WASHINGTON — In an unexpected turn of events, Todd Blanche, who was serving as Deputy Attorney General, found himself appointed to the nation’s top law enforcement position during a podcast recording. Blanche was in the midst of filming an episode with the conservative legal group America First Legal when President Trump announced his promotion.
On Thursday, Blanche appeared on the inaugural episode of America First Legal’s podcast, “The Arena,” unaware that he had been named the successor to Attorney General Pam Bondi. This surprising development occurred while he was unable to check his phone for the latest updates.
Gene Hamilton, President of America First Legal, remarked, “When we started recording this podcast with our friend Todd Blanche, he was serving as deputy attorney general. By the time we wrapped up, news broke that he had been elevated to acting attorney general. It’s just how things operate in Washington, D.C.”
President Trump made the announcement public on Truth Social shortly after 1 p.m., stating, “We have great admiration for Pam, who will soon take on an important role in the private sector. Our Deputy Attorney General, the highly capable and esteemed legal expert Todd Blanche, will assume the position of Acting Attorney General.”
During the podcast, Blanche shared his perspective on his role, saying, “Our goal is to present President Trump in the best light. If you perform well and collaborate effectively with me, it reflects positively on all of us.”
At one point in the show, the deputy AG mentioned his mindset in his position, “We all want to make President Trump look good. … If you do a good job, and you work with me, you make me look good.”
He added: “I hope to make the Attorney General look good, and that’s what hopefully works.”
Asked about criticism he and Bondi have received in their roles, Blanche also replied: “I like that people say we don’t do enough. I like it that the president says to me, to the attorney general, you need to be doing more. … The Justice Department can always be doing more.”
AFL’s show will feature analysis, commentary — including scathing criticism of bad legal takes online — and exclusive interviews with special guests inside and outside of the Trump administration.
Blanche, who served as Trump’s criminal defense attorney in the Manhattan “hush money” case brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, shared new details about his upbringing, family life and legal career during the interview.
“The reason why I’m here, as I say a lot, is I got a phone call from a guy who was being railroaded by some rogue prosecutors, and he decided to run for president and won,” he quipped.
A former federal prosecutor, Blanche worked his way up the ranks in the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, first as a paralegal, then as an assistant US attorney and eventually as co-chief of the office’s violent crimes division, prosecuting gangs, drug dealers and murderers.
He did that while also juggling the responsibilities of being a father to two young kids — and attending law school in the evenings before heading into his paralegal position.
“If I didn’t go to night law school, I wouldn’t have been the lawyer that I was,” he said. “That allowed me to be a prosecutor; that allowed me to have skills to represent the president.”
“My family, my wife, we had kids when we were young, and that was a challenge at the time, but that also made me who I am today,” he added.
Blanche exited the district attorney’s office for private practice and eventually became a defense attorney for 2016 Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and later, the 45th president himself — an experience that he said showed him what “politicized” prosecutions look like.
“It turned something in my soul to make me realize that … there were people with power that were pure abusers,” he said.
“Fast forward a couple of years to representing President Trump and, and you’re right, those folks were bullies,” Blanche said of Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
“The best way to beat a bully is by, you know, punch him in the nose — or winning an election, both work.”
