Experts think Pam Bondi uses anger as a defense mechanism.
, Bondi got visibly agitated as she name-called and pointed at Rep. Jerry Nadler after Nadler asked, “How many of Epstein’s co-conspirators have you indicted? How many perpetrators are you even investigating?”Bondi was briefly silent, adjusting herself and her notebook for about six seconds before starting to reply.
Nadler suggested that Bondi was avoiding the question and repeated his query. Bondi’s voice then rose, and she pointed her finger in Nadler’s direction, saying, “I’m gonna answer the question the way I want to answer the question,” and “your theatrics are ridiculous.” She later also called Rep. Jamie Raskin a “washed-up, loser lawyer” when he began to weigh in.Body language experts say her movements, finger-pointing, and facial reactions were all extremely telling. Here’s what to know:, “there’s several nonverbal shifts ... she takes her pen she’s using the pen as a symbolic weapon,” referring to a moment when Bondi holds her pen between her fingers, pointing it at Nadler as she starts to speak. “It’s interesting, because a lot of times when people use a pen as a symbolic weapon, they hold it like a knife, but this is between her fingers. So, it’s a secretive, in some way, weapon,” said Wood. Bondi then goes on to push the pen once in a “very strong, very quick, full motion forward as she begins to answer the question,” Wood said. This type of gesture, Wood said, is nonverbally part of “DARVO,” which stands for deny, attack, reverse victim and offender, and is seen as a manipulative tactic used to avoid accountability.Bondi then takes her right hand, points her finger, and makes another “stabbing” gesture, Wood noted. “And again, very strong motions. Many times, these are very subtle, not super obvious, symbolic weapons. Both of these are dramatic choices for her.” “Choices” is the key word here, according to Wood. “What I didn’t see is her feeling the anger and attacking,” she said. “It clearly says to me, nonverbally, it’s an acting choice. It’s a way she’s chosen to deal with these questions.”The gestures are performative, Wood argued. When Bondi is attacking Raskin as a “washed-up, loser lawyer,” there are no big hand gestures or pointing motions in these moments. “There’s a mismatch between those two things,” Wood noted. “The other performance aspect of it is the increased volume,” she continued. “Her volume pushes, she’s pushing it outwards from her diaphragm ... it also tells me it’s not a primitive, real response. It’s an act.” Bondi’s demeanor at the hearing is a departure from her typical behavior in public settings, according to Wood, who says she normally shows minimal facial expression, usually limited to a few eye rolls or smirks, and an even tone of voice.Win McNamee / Getty Images Pointing your finger at someone is a communications 101 no-no, and something that politicians, executives, and leaders are taught from day one.“When someone points at me that way, it’s too direct, it’s too aggressive,” Dudley said. “And in fact, when I teach passive-aggressive and assertive response styles, I always tell people, pointing at anyone is technically aggressive, unless you are truly trying to direct them to the bathroom.”“I’m sure, way before there were literally guns, that there were sharp sticks or something that when we saw somebody point something at us, it made us uncomfortable, including just a finger,” Dudley said. “So, I think it’s calling forth a lot of our fundamental evolutionary mammalian responses to that.”In a number of instances, Bondi glared up at Nadler and Raskin and raised her voice, clearly showing her anger, Dudley said. “She definitely is doing her best to shut people down, to look aggressive enough that people are going to back off of her. So, to me, I think that somehow she is sort is thinking to herself, the best defense is an offense.” These facial expressions don’t signal that someone is open to questioning. “If you’re really open to being questioned, you’re looking at people. You’re nodding yes, yes, go on,” Dudley said. None of this happened when Bondi reacted to Nadler’s question. “Anger is the strongest persuasive emotion. All the research on persuasion theory, it’s always telling when somebody goes there first, because that means that they want to use their strongest asset, and might feel that any other possibility isn’t ... going to work for them,” Wood said.The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images Dudley called the entire Trump administration an “undisciplined group of politicians who are outrageous, say what they want, no consequence for it,” before adding, “I think it’s possible that she’s just doing what everybody does, and they’ve all each other and said, ‘Hey, go in there and say anything you want. Get mad, call people names.’” Bondi is “not actually out of step from what the president does,” Dudley pointed out. (In the past, Donald Trump has called peopleAny professional handler would tell her to stay calm and never point, Dudley said, “but who knows? Maybe now they have a rally in the back room that says, ‘All right, go in there and just act like an ass, and maybe they’ll forget about the Epstein files.’” “Maybe she even has marching orders to do it ... who knows what happens behind the scenes, but we can say that this kind of out-of-control, outrageous behavior is clearly reinforced by that regime, because they’re all doing it,” Dudley said.
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