The U.S. Customs and Border Protection commander leading President Donald Trump’s urban deportation campaign is defending his wardrobe after coming under fire from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, Newsom said Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino looked “like he literally went on eBay and bought SS clothing,” suggesting that Bovino’s calf-length green trench coat resembled those worn by Nazi officers in World War II Germany.

In an interview with NewsNation’s Leland Vittert that aired Thursday, Bovino laughed off the implication and noted that the coat “is definitely Border Patrol-issued” and had been in his possession for “over 25 years.”

“I bought it when I was a young agent, around 1999,” he explained.

Watch a clip of Bovino’s appearance on NewsNation below. His comments about Newsom begin around the 7:03 mark.

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Bovino went on to suggest that Newsom’s criticism was politically motivated, given that he had worn the coat to former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C., in 2021, when President Joe Biden was still in office.

At the time, Bovino “received nothing but praise” for the coat, he said.

“Fast forward a few years to this administration, suddenly it’s a problem,” he added. “Hey, what changed there? Why is it a problem now?” [and not] During the last administration?”

Newsom, however, is not the only one comparing Bovino’s coat to a “Nazi cosplay.” Photos of Bovino taken this week in Minneapolis, where Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross earlier this month, have sparked outrage online, with many on social media focusing on her coat.

“He’s probably the type of person who collects old uniforms and memorabilia from a certain era in German history,” one person wrote on Reddit.

Another added: “Stop calling it cosplay. They’re showing you exactly who they are. And they’ve killed countless innocents for it.”

Gregory Bovino (second from left) wore his green trench coat while visiting Minneapolis this week.
Gregory Bovino (second from left) wore his green trench coat while visiting Minneapolis this week.

Anadolu via Getty Images