California Governor Gavin Newsom is continuing to rip into Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino for his fascistic dress sense—trading barbs with the man who has become the face of President Donald Trump’s brutal immigration crackdowns.
Going head-to-head on the social media platform X, Bovino accused Newsom of having “coat envy” following recent comments the governor had made about the law enforcement official’s Nazi-like trench coat.
“Too small for me, munchkin,” Newsom, who is 6 feet, 3 inches tall, shot back at Bovino. Bovino’s height is not known, but he is clearly not a tall man. “Oh, and I’m not a wanna-be nazi,” Newsom added.
The online scuffle follows Newsom’s call-out of Bovino at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
“Greg Bovino dressed up as if he literally went on eBay and purchased SS garb,” Newsom said. “Greg Bovino, secret police, private army, masked men, people disappearing, quite literally, no due process.”
Bovino was asked about the comments during an interview on NewsNation with host Leland Vittert, where he claimed his coat is “definitely Border Patrol issue,” and that he has had it since 1999.
“Greg Bovino admits his obsession goes back to 1999,” Newsom quipped in response to the clip.
Newsom has routinely trolled the president and members of the Trump administration. He has previously labeled White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller a “fascist.”
In the NewsNation interview, Bovino claimed that he wore the same controversial coat to public events under the Biden administration without issue.
“Hey, what changed there?” Bovino asked. “Why is it a problem now when it wasn’t during the last administration?”
Under the current administration, Trump has been accused of using ICE and Border Patrol agents as his own private army or secret police.
The presence of thousands of masked, armed gangs of law enforcement officers patrolling the streets of largely Democrat-leaning cities in search of people to deport has drawn frequent comparison to the Nazi paramilitary organization of Adolf Hitler, the Schutzstaffel or SS.
The Department of Homeland Security has not helped the issue with promotional videos showing Bovino rallying ICE goons, interspersed with black-and-white imagery of the man in question in his now-infamous coat.
ICE agents and their methods of operation have come in for fierce criticism in recent weeks, following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old mother of three, Renee Good, by officer Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
The death of the unarmed protester has inspired local and national mass protests.
Bovino, in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, praised Ross, who he claimed was operating in self-defence.
“Hats off to that ICE agent. I’m glad he made it out alive,” Bovino said. “I’m glad he’s with his family.”
