Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino got caught in his own lie during a social media tussle with CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday morning amid a frantic posting spree.
The Trump goon has been all over X in attempts to defend the killing of Alex Pretti, repeating unfounded claims that the VA nurse was planning to massacre ICE agents.
Senior political reporter at CNN, Aaron Blake, set off the mid-morning clash by first posting on X on Sunday, calling out Bovino’s tendency to lie to judges when confronted about both his and his agents’ use of excessive force against protestors.
In re: DHS’s credibility in situations like this, I often think back to this paragraph on Bovino.
It’s from a judge’s ruling in November. pic.twitter.com/TxDN8Zjp6y— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) January 25, 2026
He attached screenshots of a judge’s ruling regarding a brutal encounter in Chicago, one of the early victims of Trump’s violent revival in immigration enforcement.
Bovino said that he had tear-gassed the peaceful protestors in response to a rock being thrown at his head. According to video evidence examined by the judge, the Trump goon’s claim was fabricated.
Jake Tapper then amplified the initial post by Blake with a quote from the ruling, “‘Bovino admitted in his deposition that he lied multiple times,’ wrote the judge.”
Bovino hastily replied to Jake Tapper, “Then identify the lie, Jake. No one can seem to find this mysterious ‘lie’.”
Then identify the lie, Jake. No one can seem to find this mysterious ” lie”.
— Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) January 25, 2026
In fact, through three days of testimony and after several embarrassing stumbles, Bovino admitted that he deployed the tear gas on a whim. No rocks were thrown at his head before the unnecessary reaction to the peaceful crowd of protestors.
It seems that Bovino did not take the time to read the original thread before responding recklessly to Tapper.
“Happy to help, sir,” Tapper responded cheekily this morning.
He then took time to spell it out for Bovino, post by post, reiterating the judge’s ruling, noting each time Bovino lied in his deposition.
He added the original 233-page judges’ ruling to round out his 12-post own of Bovino. “Let me know if I can help with anything else,” he remarked at last.
Happy to help, sir.
From Judge Ellis:
“Bovino admitted in his deposition that he lied multiple times about the events that occurred in Little Village that prompted him to throw tear gas at protesters.”
“Bovino and DHS have represented that a rock hit Bovino in the helmet… https://t.co/xaaIUXwhq1— Jake Tapper 🦅 (@jaketapper) January 26, 2026
This isn’t the first time in the past 24 hours that the goon, whose outfits are often compared to those of Nazis by his critics, has blundered in his rush to defend the 37-year-old nurse’s killing.
He responded to a former DHS official who was criticizing the “lawlessness, fascism, and cruelty” the federal officials were now exhibiting, prompting Bovino to falsely question his service at the agency.
Bovino also responded to a fabricated post from a QAnon-supporting X account claiming that singer Ted Nugent donated $100,000 to ICE, thanking him for the supposed contribution.
He’s just one of the administration’s goons bungling the response to Pretti’s killing. Senior federal immigration officials have referred to DHS’s messaging as “a case study on how not to do crisis PR.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has gone further in his rhetoric, calling Pretti an “assassin” and a “domestic terrorist.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also called the VA nurse a domestic terrorist and said that he had brought his gun to “inflict maximum damage” on the ICE officers.
Videos from multiple angles contradict their statements.
The post Top Trump Stooge Humiliates Himself With Brutal Self-Own appeared first on The Daily Beast.
