Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco says he is tired of legislators and elected officials not caring about the rule of law.
That’s why he says he’s endorsing former President Donald Trump, who was just convicted last week in the state of New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records, in the November election.
In a video posted to his personal Instagram account, Bianco, appearing in uniform and seemingly in a department vehicle, said he had spent his entire law enforcement career working to arrest criminals and put them behind bars. But he says he believes California policies have made that job harder and, as far as he sees it, criminals are not only being let off easy, but are being told they bear no responsibility for the crimes they commit.
“This love affair that our governor and our state legislature have with criminals is based on the belief that criminals are not responsible for their own actions, that they are a victim of society, and really, it’s our fault,” Bianco says in the video. “It’s society’s fault. It’s business’s fault. It’s cops fault, it might be my fault.”
In the video, which is sarcastic in tone, Bianco said politicians, California Gov. Gavin Newsom in particular have “slashed” law enforcement budgets, closed prisons and let criminals out of detention early. Newsom has spearheaded the closure of multiple California prisons, but the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department budget has increased more than $270 million since 2019, when Bianco was sworn in, according to the County’s open budget tool.
Bianco also challenged the idea of systemic racism or bias in law enforcement or the judicial system and instead said criminals were actually receiving preferential treatment.
“And so they let them out, they give them food, they give them housing, they give them money, they give them drugs and alcohol now, and I gotta be honest, I’m getting tired,” Bianco said.
In a tongue-in-cheek delivery, Bianco implied he was done fighting against the tide and trying to enforce the laws and thus, “switching teams” and instead endorsing a convicted criminal in Trump.
“I think it’s time that instead of letting them out of jail and and giving them alcohol and drugs and everything else, I think it’s time we put a felon in the White House,” Bianco said.
It was unclear how his endorsement of Trump in 2024 would have an effect on the issues he has with with Gov. Newsom, the California legislature or the state laws that he said favor criminals.
Bianco, a Republican, has been considering running for the California Governor’s Office in 2026, according to reporting from The Press-Enterprise. After the video was posted, some social commenters floated his name as a possible Trump running mate.
The sheriff concluded his video by urging others to follow his lead.
“Trump 2024, baby,” Bianco said. “Let’s save this country and make America great again.”