“I think it’s time we put a felon in the White House,” declared Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco in a video posted to Instagram. It’s certainly not the first time the controversial sheriff has sought plaudits from MAGA world, but it’s a bad look for one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state.
Bianco, while in uniform, declared his support for Trump following Thursday’s conviction of the former president.
“I think it’s time that instead of letting them out of jail and giving them alcohol and drugs and everything else, I think it’s time we put a felon in the White House,” he said in context. “Trump 2024, baby. Let’s save this country and make America great again.’’
There are a number of reasons to be annoyed by such rhetoric.
One is the apparent violation of California Government Code 3206, which directly states, “No officer or employee of a local agency shall participate in political activities of any kind while in uniform.”
In response to concerns that he violated the law, Bianco was defiant in responding to questioning by KESQ-TV, saying, “On my personal pages, I can do anything that I want, there is only one sheriff’s uniform, and that’s mine.“
Even assuming he could, it doesn’t take much thought to recognize that someone in uniform shouldn’t be campaigning while in uniform. At minimum, it reinforces the notion that law enforcement isn’t impartial and wields power with partisan interests in mind.
Which gets to the broader problem of Bianco’s perpetual pandering to MAGA world, whether on Fox News or the Epoch Times. Bianco has already explicitly confirmed his long-known interest in running for governor. His attention isn’t on ensuring the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is well-run, efficient or effective at addressing crime. It’s on partisan political theatrics. That’s it.
The work of his department speaks for itself. On his watch, the department has come under investigation by the California Department of Justice. There has been a historic rise in jail deaths. Millions have been doled out in settlements due to the actions of his deputies. Deputies have been arrested for everything from drug trafficking to sexual abuse. And, to top it all off, his department has an abysmally low clearance rate on property crimes and has become every costlier for cities in Riverside County to contract with.
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With a track record like that, it’s no wonder Bianco is looking to appeal to a broader audience that knows him only for his “cowboy” image and fondness for Donald Trump.
Pandering to a political base during an election year is a lot easier and much more of an ego boost than keeping your head down, leading and getting results.
The only thing we can hope for is that most people see Bianco’s act for what it is.
