Trump’s Demoted Border Patrol Commander Selling $99 “Deport Them All” Whiskey
Gregory Bovino spent 30 years climbing the ranks of the U.S. Border Patrol. He became one of the most recognizable faces of the Trump administration’s mass deportation push — the guy in the long olive-green coat leading immigration raids in Minneapolis. Then things went sideways. Now he’s selling bourbon.
The product is called Commander’s Choice. It’s a 90-proof whiskey, $99 a bottle, sold online. The label features Bovino in his Border Patrol uniform alongside the phrases “America First” and “Deport Them All.” There’s also a dedication titled “For the Tribe,” which pays tribute to Border Patrol agents, Customs and Border Protection officers, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement who participated in the administration’s 2025–2026 interior immigration campaign.
“Somebody said, ‘We got to come up with a Border Patrol whiskey,’” Bovino told New York Magazine’s Intelligencer. “If that tells you my mindset right now, there it is for you.”
How He Got Here
Bovino rose to national prominence in the fall of 2025 when he was named commander-at-large of the Border Patrol, a role that put him at the front of the Trump administration’s large-scale immigration enforcement operations. He became a fixture of high-profile urban raids, drawing attention for his aggressive tactics and unmistakable presence on the ground.
His tenure ended abruptly in January 2026. Two civilians — Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good — were fatally shot by federal agents during immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis, where Bovino had been leading Operation Metro Surge. The fallout was significant. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was fired. Bovino was demoted back to a regional posting in El Centro, California. Border Czar Tom Homan took over immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.
Bovino retired from the Border Patrol in March 2026.
The Business Launch Wasn’t Easy
After deciding to turn his brand into an actual brand, Bovino ran into an unexpected obstacle: finding a distillery willing to work with him. He and his sister Natalie, who co-founded the venture, said they initially struggled to find producers willing to associate with the project. They eventually connected with Timber Creek Distillery in the Florida panhandle.
The whiskey sales are currently being used to fund the business itself, but Bovino has said he hopes to eventually partner with a nonprofit aligned with Trump’s immigration agenda. In the meantime, he’s been appearing on MAGA podcasts and attending anti-immigration conferences — Commander’s Choice presumably available for purchase afterward.
Reaction to the Launch
The launch is generating attention that’s sharply divided along predictable lines. Supporters of the administration’s immigration policies see it as a fitting tribute to law enforcement. Critics point to the two civilians killed under Bovino’s watch in Minneapolis as context that the whiskey label doesn’t exactly address.
The branding itself is designed to provoke. “Deport Them All” isn’t a policy position that tends to invite nuanced discussion, and putting it on a $99 bottle of bourbon is clearly not an accident. Bovino built a public identity around confrontational immigration enforcement, and Commander’s Choice is essentially that identity in product form.
Whether the market for deportation-themed premium bourbon is large enough to sustain a business is a separate question. But Bovino seems less concerned with building a traditional spirits brand than with keeping himself in the conversation — and on the right side of it, from his perspective.
“There it is for you,” he said.
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