Who is the most vile Trumper of them all? Greg Bovino, of Border Patrol, gets our vote after he praised federal agents for killing Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

Greg Bovino: Sub-Human Excrement (Axios)

The Donald Trump administration is filled with so many incompetent, integrity-challenged sycophants that it's almost impossible to rank them on a scale of detestability. You can't go wrong, of course, by starting with the head guy, Trump himself. But where do you plug in such rogues as J.D. Vance, Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth, RFK Jr., Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio . . . and the list goes on?

In the wake of federal agents fatally shooting 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis, I have a new candidate for Most Detestable Trumper. That would be Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, whose utter lack of empathy following what best could be described as a "tragedy for American democracy," raised an obvious question: Is this guy sub-human?

Let's consider this Axios report about Bovino's comments the day after the shooting which comes under the headline "Border Patrol's Bovino praises agents who killed Alex Pretti." (By the way, I'm not making that headline up, as breaking news reporter Avery Lotz makes clear in her report:

Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino praised federal agents who fatally shot Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti, insisting without explanation or evidence Sunday that Pretti was "there for a reason."

Bovino actually got something right with that statement: Pretti was there for a reason, to be a legal observer and help direct traffic, according to those who knew him, He was not, however there to cause trouble, as Bovino suggested.

Outrageous comments from Trump insiders did not end there. Bovino also said Pretti wanted to  "massacre law enforcement." White House adviser Stephen Miller called Pretti a "would-be assassin."

The words of a doctor who witnessed the shooting indicate the killer agents are deeply disturbed individuals:

“I saw that the victim was lying on his side and was surrounded by several ICE agents. I was confused as to why the victim was on his side, because that is not standard practice when a victim has been shot. Checking for a pulse and administering CPR is standard practice. Instead of doing either of those things, the ICE agents appeared to be counting his bullet wounds."

The Axios report provides broad context surrounding the shooting, and that includes more Bovino comment. that make the mind swirl. In one, he refers to Pretti as "the suspect." In another, he called Border Patrol agents "the victims." That brought two thoughts to my mind: (1) Who killed whom here? (2) No wonder Trump hired this guy; he makes Trump sound sane. Avery Lotz writes:

The big picture: For the second time this month, videos of a Minnesota resident being shot by federal agents contradict the narrative federal officials pushed. Both times, officials doubled down with ramped-up rhetoric.

Driving the news: "The suspect put himself in that situation," Bovino said on CNN's State of the Union Sunday. "The victims are the Border Patrol agents there."

• Federal officials said DHS officers were conducting a targeted operation against an undocumented immigrant when the confrontation occurred.
• Videos from multiple angles show Pretti filming a scene where civilians encounter federal agents. An agent shoves a person to the ground before spraying Pretti with a chemical irritant.
• Officers wrestle Pretti to the ground and appear to remove a gun from his waist. Then shots ring out.
• The Department of Homeland Security claimed without evidence Pretti was there to "massacre law enforcement."

In a fine moment for journalism, CNN's Dana Bash pressed Bovino on Sunday for answers he did not want to give.

Friction point: CNN's Dana Bash repeatedly pushed Bovino for evidence to support that claim Sunday. Instead, he said without offering new details that officers prevented "any specific shootings" of law enforcement.

• He added, "So, good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that."
• Bash asked for evidence Pretti went after law enforcement or was trying to impede their operation. Bovino said Pretti injected himself into "an active law enforcement scene."
• Bovino also offered no evidence to show Pretti brandished a weapon, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggested.

• State of play: Bovino complained about "freeze-frame adjudication" of the incident, but claimed Pretti came to the scene "for a reason."

  • Bovino refused to weigh in on footage showing an officer disarming Pretti before shooting him, saying, "we don't know that agent was taking any gun away."
  • Bovino was adamant Pretti assaulted law enforcement officers who were trying to de-escalate the situation, despite the contradictory video evidence.

  What we're watching: Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday the state will conduct its own investigation and blasted the administration's initial account as "lies."

• •  DHS blocked local agents from the scene, Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.
  • A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order to prevent federal agents from destroying or altering evidence, including evidence feds already removed.
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  Go deeper: Gun rights groups challenge shooting of legally armed Minneapolis man.