Sunday morning talk shows usually feature politicians dodging questions with the grace of a gazelle, but this weekend gave us something different.
We got to watch a Trump administration official perform mental gymnastics that would win gold if “Gaslighting” were an Olympic sport.
CNN’s Dana Bash sat down with Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino to discuss the killing of Alex Pretti.
Pretti, a 37-year-old man, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Naturally, the Trump team wasted no time painting the victim as the villain.
The Official Narrative (Or: Creative Writing 101)
Before Bovino even took the hot seat, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tried to set the stage on Saturday evening.
According to Noem, “The officers attempted to disarm this individual but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.”
She didn’t stop there.
Noem added, “It looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and kill law enforcement.”
But here is the kicker.
Many people are pointing out that the video of the incident completely contradicts her action-movie version of events.
It seems facts are optional in this administration.
The Second Amendment Applies… Unless We Don’t Like You
The real fireworks started when Dana Bash tried to get a straight answer out of Commander Bovino.
She asked him a simple question about rights.
“So are you saying it’s not okay for him to exercise his Second Amendment right — not to mention his First Amendment right to be there in the first place — but his Second Amendment right to carry the gun? And if you do, you can be shot by federal law enforcement?”
Bovino’s response was a masterclass in contradiction.
He claimed, “What I’m saying is we respect that Second Amendment right, but those rights don’t count when you riot and assault, delay, obstruct, and impede law enforcement officers — and most especially when you mean to do that beforehand.”
Ah yes.
The classic “pre-crime” defense.
“Because He Was There”
Bash pushed back, asking how Bovino knew Pretti intended to cause harm beforehand.
Bovino’s brilliant legal reasoning?
“Because he was there, because he was there.”
That is it. That is the evidence.
Existing in a space is now proof of intent to commit a massacre.
Bash wasn’t having it.
She fired back, “There’s no evidence that he was perpetrating violence! And there’s no evidence, unless you have it, and we’d love to see it if there is, that he was intending to massacre law enforcement other than the fact that he was there and he had a gun lawfully.”
Bovino just kept repeating that Pretti “meant to be there beforehand.”
The Assault That Wasn’t
Bash pointed out that Pretti was legally filming and legally carrying a gun.
She asked, “So then what did he do that was illegal?”
Bovino insisted Pretti assaulted law enforcement.
Bash countered, “Where do you see in the video that he was assaulting law enforcement? Because from everything we have seen, law enforcement was assaulting him when he was there trying to help another individual.”
Bovino then dropped the most laughable line of the interview.
“Dana, law enforcement doesn’t assault anyone.”
Right. And I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
He concluded by blaming the victim entirely.
“It’s too bad the consequences had to be paid because he injected himself into that crime scene. I can’t say that enough. He made the decision to go there.”
So there you have it.
In MAGA land, complying with the law doesn’t matter if the police decide they don’t like you.
The party that screams about the Constitution seems to have lost their copy of it.
