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“Looks like a surrender”: Right-wing media figures are disappointed by Trump’s demotion of Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino

Written by Sophie Lawton

Published

Some right-wing media figures are frustrated over Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino’s demotion and removal from Minneapolis following widespread backlash against the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by masked Border Patrol agents there on January 24.

Bovino has been the face of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts on the ground, overseeing operations in various cities across the U.S.

Following Pretti’s killing, Bovino made statements praising the agents at the scene, saying “good job for our law enforcement in taking him down” and claiming “the victims are the Border Patrol agents there.” He also claimed Pretti planned to “massacre law enforcement” with his legal concealed carry weapon, which multiple video analyses show was never drawn but was instead removed by the agents before they opened fire.

On January 26, The Atlantic reported that “Bovino has been removed from his role as Border Patrol ‘commander at large’ and will return to his former job in El Centro, California, where he is expected to retire soon,” calling his “sudden demotion … the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration is reconsidering its most aggressive tactics.”

Bovino’s retreat from Minnesota comes after Fox News host Brian Kilmeade called for President Donald Trump to send “border czar” Tom Homan to Minneapolis to “settle things down.” With that change now underway, some MAGA figures are displeased by Bovino’s removal, claiming it’s a “surrender” to the protesters.

    • Podcaster Tim Pool claimed removing Bovino “looks like a surrender” and insulted Trump, calling him a “weak old man” who “could not handle the heat” in Minneapolis. [YouTube, Timcast, 1/27/26, 1/27/26]

  • From the January 27, 2026, edition of Timcast, posted to YouTube

    • MAGA strategist Steve Bannon heavily praised Bovino, saying he “has done a magnificent job” in Minneapolis “when the world was against him,” then claimed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is “taking a victory lap right now.” The following day, Bannon complained that the administration “left him [Bovino] out there” without enough help from the FBI or Justice Department. “Not even a full complement of DHS,” Bannon said. “Why is the IRS not kicking down doors right now?” [Real America’s Voice, War Room, 1/26/26, 1/27/26]
    • Newsmax’s Rob Schmitt said Bovino leaving Minneapolis “feels like a surrender to the chaos and a surrender to the agents of this chaos.” Later in the show, Schmitt said the move “feels like Republicans are kind of starting to cave on this.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 1/26/26, 1/26/26]

  • From the January 26, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight

    • Newsmax host Greg Kelly said “Greg Bovino has been forced to go home. I don't like that. Walz is still the governor, and Bovino from the Border Patrol has been sent home. I don't like it at all.” [Newsmax, Greg Kelly Reports, 1/26/26]

  • From the January 26, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Greg Kelly Reports

    • On Infowars, host Harrison Smith read a social media post from conservative influencer Nick Sortor arguing that removing Bovino “is BS!” and “Trump must reverse this NOW!” Smith added “I really don’t understand” Trump demoting Bovino and said that the White House response is “a little bit soft.” [Infowars, War Room, 1/26/26]