Tim Miller: You Don’t Get a Mulligan for Murder - Bulwark Takes

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And I just think it's very important in this moment for opponents of this horrific assault on Americans rights and opponents of this institution that now has killed two Americans in Minneapolis to be very clear about what the demands are here and to be very clear that just putting a little lipstick on the pig is not going to be a sufficient response to the heinousness with which these guys have behaved and the lawlessness more importantly. So I just, I just want to give you a couple of examples what we're seeing and give my reaction to it. Let's start with the big news of the evening. A lot of conflicting reports on this and sort of moving in Real time. But we know that something is happening with the little fella, Gregory Bevino. There were initial reports this morning from CNN and Fox that he and some members of the CBP task force were getting pushed out of Minneapolis and they're going to go to other jurisdictions, you know, taking the rapist priest and moving them from one parish to another. Just kind of taking a page out of the Catholic playbook there. That was the initial report. Then we had a report from Nick Sorter, who's a maga, kind of on the ground, pro ice reporter. Reporter, if you want to call it that. And he was saying that Vivino is being stripped of his title as the commander at large of the Border Patrol. It was going to be sent to California. The Atlantic also reported that. And with the additional piece of information that he was going to soon be retiring, Trisha McLaughlin, the spokeswitch at the Department of Homeland Security, pushed back on that and sent out a post saying that Bevino is respected and blah, blah, blah, and the administration loves him. He's so important and we love our little mini fascist. And then CNN came up with another report indicating that Vivino had been locked out of his social media accounts because he was so busy being a reply guy to people that were mad that his goons murdered a U.S. citizen. Among the people he replied to was my good friend Bill Kristol. Yesterday he said that people that choose illegal aliens over American citizens are the problem. That was Bavino's thought for Bill. I think that's kind of strange because in this case at least, the person in question is the American citizen that Bevino's men murdered and then who he posthumously speak smeared and denigrated and lied about. So I don't know who's on the side of the American citizen, but in this case, I think it would be those of us who wish the American citizen that his team killed was still with us. So just taking it all together, I think what we know is that Vivino's role is in some way, you know, going to be reduced. What exactly that looks like remains to be seen. You know, whether it's just him and his little traveling circus of Nazis going to Phoenix or Boston or Atlanta next, you know, or whether he's pushed to the side and replaced, you know, with another psychopath, all that remains to be seen. To me, I think that the Trisha McLaughlin quote is the most relevant thing right now. Because if the administration thinks that they can get out of this mess by simply dialing back the rhetoric, dialing back the smears about the people that they killed sending in the moderating force, Tom Homan, into Minneapolis, you know, he. With the $50,000 in the CAVA bag and with a commitment to deporting nonviolent criminals and who said all kinds of insane and extreme on Fox News over the years, if they put in that moderating force in Minneapolis and then kind of sideline Bavino a little bit, then they can just continue on with business as usual. And that ain't fucking good enough. Bavino and his posse murdered somebody. We need accountability. He should be fired already. He should be brought in front of Congress. He should be investigated, should be subpoenaed. That's what should be happening to Greg Bevino. So if the administration thinks that they can kind of sideline him quietly while still puffing him up and saying nice things about him because he's got Napoleon syndrome, responds positively to compliments, and then they can just continue about their business. We cannot accept that those of us on the side of opposing this administration, opposing ice, supporting the rights of every American to be able to walk the streets freely without worrying that they are going to be targeted, racially targeted, by a masked goon who has no care for their first, second, or fourth amendment rights. If you are as outraged on this, we cannot. You know, we can be happy that it's a modest step that Pavino is out of Minneapolis. We can be happy that potentially it's even another modest, positive step that he might get to take an early retirement, you know, alongside so many of the other Trump fall guys in the past. But if they continue to fund this organization at a level where ICE is. Well, he's obviously cbp. But if they continue to fund ICE and CBP at a level where they have more money than any other federal law enforcement, when they have more money than major militaries of other countries throughout the world, then we're going to still continue to see these results. Maybe the person will be slightly less of a psychopath. Who's next? But Greg Vino didn't order those guys to kill Renee Goode and. And Alex Preddy. Like, they created a situation where that was inevitable by allowing these guys to be all tacked up, you know, in their special Forces helmets and, you know, their fucking huge weapons and their tactical gear and, you know, etc. Etc. Allow them to act like that. They are invading Fallujah when they're going into a suburban neighborhood, you know, have them be masked, tell them that they have impunity, allow them to menace people. Like, if that stuff is still happening. And it's just the person at the head of it dials it back 10% and how much he encourages these fat sociopaths that are under his command. We're basically the same place we were six months ago, which is a terrible fucking place. We're basically back to where we were in Chicago, here in New Orleans, where there's a lot of tragedy and a lot of people whose rights are being infringed upon. So look, I think that we can take modest progress and be happy that the little SS commander is out of Minneapolis and potentially out altogether. But the opposition cannot let them have this face saving offering. And there are a couple other examples that I want to get into, a couple of other just kind of little anecdotes. Today I mentioned on the pod that Trump had called walls. Trump also called Fry. He is framing both of those conversations as progress being made. Tom Homan's gonna be out there. This is similar again. It's like it's better they're communicating than not. It's better that they're having a point person now there in Minneapolis who is allegedly gonna be de escalating in some way. But it doesn't change the underlying problem. ICE has been funded more than any other federal law enforcement agency. So what are those people going to be doing? Right? Not sitting around licking lollipops. All right, they're still going to be out there. All they're doing is kind of trying to modestly look at the situation in Minneapolis and do a few things that for once doesn't add fire to the powder keg. And so again, like, that's better than doing the opposite. It's better than escalating. It's better than doing the Insurrection act, sending the National Guard like Mike Lee has argued for Senator Mike Lee of Utah. But the underlying effort is the same. This goes also to the Kristi Noem thing. I have a little bit of an issue with Democrats on this. There have been some Democrats focused on pushing out Kristi Noemi. And I understand that this in traditional politics is kind of something you do if you're in the out party. You want to scalp. You want the administration to have to demonstrate that they're going to make changes. You find a fall person. Kristi Noem leaving doesn't do anything for me. It doesn't do anything for anyone. They need to defund and claw back the money that has already been funded to these lawless agencies. Like, like if you replace Kristi Noem with what, with some other MAGA goon, how Is that going to make anything better? I don't see it. Stephen Miller will still be there. The vice president will still be there. They're fully on board with this program. So, you know, I just want us to all be wary of a situation here where the administration pitches that they have, you know, made some changes. They've put in the moderating force. Tom Homan in Minneapolis, they're maybe even changing the DHS secretary. They feel bad about some of the language that they used about Alex Preddy, and now we can just move forward, business as usual. No, no. Like, this was a constitutional crisis. This was an assault on the rights of Americans here in New Orleans, in Chicago, in Memphis and all these places before they murdered two people. Okay, so they've murdered two people. And like, going back to the pre Minneapolis status quo is not. Is not good enough. Okay. It was this pre Minneapolis status quo that led us to a place that we ended up with two people getting murdered by the government. All right? So like, I just. Like that to me needs to be the red line for people opposing this. And that's what we need to be proposing to the kind of Republicans and business community types that want an off ramp here and want to save face. What they want is to be able to declare victory in Minneapolis with only the two dead people and then kind of go back to how they were doing things before. And that can't be acceptable. The pressure needs to be kept up to this point. You can see how they're talking about this. In some ways, it's a victory. I know people are probably like, tim, take some W's, but, like, it's just too serious. Okay? This is too serious to let them get away with this. And so I want to play for you just one example of where I think they're trying to take this and where they're going, and that's Ted Cruz in an interview earlier today. I think the administration could do better. Is. Is the tone with which they're describing this, that. That immediately when an incident like this happens, they come out guns blazing. That. That we took out a violent terrorist. Hooray. What? He thinks that the administration could do better. On his tone, he was not happy that they called Alex Preddy a terrorist. I'm also not happy that they called Alex Preddy a terrorist. His parents weren't happy. His priest wasn't happy. I'm not happy. A lot of people are mad. So we all can agree with Ted Cruz on that. The lying from the administration is unacceptable and disgusting and depraved. Okay, but the problem with the administration's actions is not the tone with which they've smeared Alex Preddy. The problem with the administration's actions is that they fucking killed Alex Preddy and they killed Renee Goode and they pushed down a woman to the ground standing next to Alex Pretty. And they've been pushing down and menacing and harassing and bruising and pepper spraying people expressing their First Amendment rights in Minneapolis and all over the country for a year now. I mean, fuck, when did I interview George Reddes? It feels like a lifetime ago, like, last summer. He's an American citizen who was detained for three days by these same goons, okay? They've been doing this for almost a year now. The problem is not the tone. And. And these guys want their off ramp to be. We acknowledge that the tone was a little off from Stephen Miller. He gets a little hot. And we acknowledge that new face dog killing Christie, it was maybe not the best. So we're going to place her with another person who is still going to send mass thugs into the streets to menace people like. No, no. They need to claw back the money that they gave to ICE last year. They need only agents in the streets that show their name and show their face. They need to stop the entire mass deportation program. I don't expect them to do that. As long as Stephen Miller is there, that is what they're going to be doing. It was on the placards. That's what the administration is. But if they want to change course to work with Democrats on the Hill to change course, like, those are the demands. All right, we read through on the pod today all Ro Khanna's demands. I agreed with every single one of them. All right? Like, they. The. The problem here is not the tone. The tone is depraved and atrocious and reflects that they all have a black soul. All right? So the way that they treated the man that they killed is disgusting. And hopefully they'll receive their eternal reward for that. But that's not the problem here. If they. If they start being a little nicer. This is Cruz. This is kind of like the thing they do where they're like, oh, you know, the left is just mad about the mean tweets. No, I'm not mad about. I like the tweets. I like the tone. It shows us who they really are. Okay? I want them to be ghoulish, right? I want J.D. vance and Stephen Miller to call a man who was just videotaping and was exercising his First Amendment rights an assassin. I want people to see who they are. I don't. The tone is wrong, but that's not the problem. All right? The problem is the policy and it's got to stop or else there's just going to be more examples of this. We're going to go through this all over and over again. I want to. I like how Bill Kristol put it. Me and him are just on the same wavelength today. As you heard earlier, he writes his home into Minnesota. Trump speaks with Walls. Levitt distances Trump a bit from Nome. All show Trump's feeling heat. But these gestures mean as much as Putin suggesting he's changed and wants peace with Ukraine. Don't fall for it. Insists ICE and CBP off the streets. What he said. So that's where we're at on this. And I think that's the next inflection point. They're going to try to look for some face saving and move on. And the people this country got to keep up the heat because Gregory Bevino and the mass murderers that killed Alex Preddy, whose names we still don't know, are just on the streets of another city right now or they will be tomorrow. And that's not acceptable. They work for us, okay? They are agents of the state in a free country, in a democracy. We pay their bills. They're our employees. They cannot kill us anonymously and then just move on, okay? They can't. The state can't just send mass goons out into the streets to kill the American people and then send them to other cities and do a little, do a little PR cleanup where they say, well, you know, we're going to look into it now. We are going to look into it. The Minnesota government needs to look into it. Right? These folks need to be charged and investigated and I assume ultimately indicted based on what I've seen. And they need to be off the streets. So that's where I'm at on all this. It is worth noting that they recognize they're over their skis. Better than the alternative. Better than them escalating right now. Better than them sending troops in. But not anywhere in the ballpark of good enough. Not in the ballpark. And we should demand more from our elected leaders and the people that are paid to protect us, to protect and serve their fellow Americans, because they're not doing that right now. They're doing the opposite. Subscribe to the feed. We got some real good stuff coming for you tomorrow. So I appreciate you guys tell your friends and if there's breaking news, we'll be keeping you posted.

Podcast Summary:
Bulwark Takes – Tim Miller: You Don’t Get a Mulligan for Murder
Date: January 27, 2026
Host: Tim Miller

Episode Overview

In this urgent solo take, Tim Miller dissects the wave of developments surrounding the deadly actions of U.S. immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, pressing the case for real accountability rather than cosmetic changes. After two American citizens, Renee Goode and Alex Preddy, were killed by CBP/ICE agents, Miller warns against accepting mere “messaging tweaks” or minor personnel reshuffles as adequate responses to what he calls a “constitutional crisis.” He analyzes the administration’s calculated attempts to tone down rhetoric, the fate of the embattled CBP commander Gregory Bevino, and the broader issue of out-of-control, militarized law enforcement agencies. Miller’s message is uncompromising: America cannot accept face-saving gestures where murder and rights violations have occurred—there must be real, structural change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. White House and DHS Response: Cosmetic Changes, Not Substantive Reform

[01:17] The administration has tried to "tone down their language and incitement around Minneapolis" while keeping ICE and CBP operations largely unchanged.
Miller argues that the current attempts are "just putting a little lipstick on the pig" and that modest rhetoric shifts are nowhere near a sufficient response to deadly abuses of power.

2. The Fate of Gregory Bevino: Scapegoating Without Accountability

[02:01] Conflicting media reports circulate about Bevino’s reassignment, demotion, or possible retirement. Despite public relations pushback by DHS spokesperson Trisha McLaughlin ("the spokeswitch at the Department of Homeland Security"), Miller is skeptical.
Quote [03:37]: “If the administration thinks that they can get out of this mess by simply dialing back the rhetoric, dialing back the smears about the people that they killed... then they can just continue on with business as usual. And that ain’t fucking good enough.”
—Tim Miller
Miller likens the reports of Bevino's possible transfer to “moving the rapist priest from one parish to another,” noting the lack of real accountability.

3. ICE/CBP’s Systemic Problems: More Than ‘A Few Bad Apples’

Miller zeros in on the unchanged, well-funded apparatus of ICE and CBP, describing a scenario where "mask[ed] goon[s]" continue to harass and kill with impunity.
[06:43] He asserts that tweaking personnel or softening language changes nothing if the essential structure—"armed like they're invading Fallujah"—remains.
Quote [07:50]: “If that stuff is still happening and it's just the person at the head of it dials it back 10%, we're basically the same place we were six months ago, which is a terrible fucking place.”

4. Superficial ‘Progress’ and Calls for Real Action

[09:24] Miller acknowledges minor improvements (e.g., Bevino leaving Minneapolis), but insists these are insufficient so long as funding and scope remain at crisis levels:
“If they continue to fund ICE and CBP at a level where they have more money than any other federal law enforcement... we're going to still continue to see these results.”
The host criticizes traditional politics—the tendency for the “out party” to grab a scalp, like Kristi Noem, without addressing root causes.

5. Demands for Accountability & Substance Over Optics

[12:23] Miller argues that only deep structural reforms—defunding, clawing back appropriations, removing unaccountable thugs from the streets—can address the real problem.
He condemns attempts to make this simply a “tone” or “messaging” issue, ridiculing both the administration and figures like Ted Cruz for focusing on language over lethal action.

6. The Ted Cruz Factor: Missing the Point

[14:50] Miller plays a clip of Ted Cruz criticizing the administration for “tone” after the killings—missing the central issue:
Quote [15:44]: “The problem with the administration's actions is not the tone with which they've smeared Alex Preddy. The problem with the administration's actions is that they fucking killed Alex Preddy and they killed Renee Goode and they pushed down a woman to the ground... The problem is not the tone.”
He directly rebuts the “mean tweets” argument—insisting that the real evil is not the rhetoric but the policies and murders themselves.

7. No Return to the Status Quo Ante

[17:15] Miller issues a stark warning to political moderates and business interests seeking a quick resolution:
Quote [17:45]: “They want to be able to declare victory in Minneapolis with only the two dead people and then kind of go back to how they were doing things before. And that can't be acceptable. The pressure needs to be kept up.”

8. Bill Kristol’s Analysis and the Need to “Keep up the Heat”

[18:34] Miller quotes Bill Kristol’s pithy comparison: “These gestures mean as much as Putin suggesting he's changed and wants peace with Ukraine. Don't fall for it. Insist ICE and CBP off the streets.”
Miller concludes with a call to keep national focus and popular pressure on the issue, warning that without a reckoning, the cycle of abuse and impunity will simply continue in other cities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

[03:37] “That ain’t fucking good enough. Bevino and his posse murdered somebody... He should be fired already. He should be brought in front of Congress.” —Tim Miller
[07:50] “If that stuff is still happening and it's just the person at the head of it dials it back 10%... we're basically the same place we were six months ago, which is a terrible fucking place.” —Tim Miller
[09:24] "If they continue to fund ICE and CBP... we're going to still continue to see these results. Maybe the person will be slightly less of a psychopath who's next." —Tim Miller
[15:44] “The problem with the administration's actions is not the tone... it's that they fucking killed Alex Preddy and they killed Renee Goode...” —Tim Miller
[18:34] (Quoting Bill Kristol) “These gestures mean as much as Putin suggesting he's changed and wants peace with Ukraine. Don't fall for it. Insist ICE and CBP off the streets.”

Important Timestamps

[01:17–04:00]: Immediate post-news reaction; skepticism of White House PR moves.
[06:43–09:24]: Analysis of systemic law enforcement violence and the problems of superficial remedies.
[12:23–15:44]: Discussion of accountability demands, Democrats’ strategy, and rejection of “tone” arguments.
[14:50–17:45]: Ted Cruz’s comments and broader frustration with “mean tweets” deflection.
[18:34–End]: Bill Kristol’s statement, final warnings, and a call to public vigilance.

Conclusion

Tim Miller’s central message is clear and relentless: In the wake of state-sanctioned killings, America cannot settle for softer PR or cosmetic demotions. “You don’t get a mulligan for murder.” Only real accountability, structural reform, and reduced power for ICE and CBP can prevent further tragedies. Miller urges listeners and political leaders alike to keep up public pressure and reject face-saving half-measures, emphasizing—above all—a commitment to civil rights and the rule of law.