Tony Thurmond slams Sheriff Chad Bianco for endorsing Trump while in uniform
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. - Tony Thurmond, the California State Superintendent who is running for governor in 2026, is slamming Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco for his recent viral video endorsing presidential candidate Donald Trump, and is calling for an investigation.
It all started on June 1, when Bianco shared a video endorsing Trump on his personal Instagram account.
Bianco started off by criticizing politicians for their handling of law enforcement budgets, laws about how crimes are prosecuted and more, saying that Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislators have a "love affair" with criminals. Because of this, he said he's "switching sides."
"I think it's time we put a felon in the White House," Bianco said in the video. "Trump 2024, baby. Let's save this country and make America great again."
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Comments on the video have since been turned off.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Thurmond responded, saying that Bianco should be investigated for improper use of tax funds.
"You've got to be kidding me," Thurmond said. "This is crazy."
Thurmond called Bianco's actions "illegal," and is now calling for an investigation into the post. Specifically, Thurman called out Bianco endorsing a political candidate while "wearing a taxpayer-funded uniform." Biano was wearing his Sheriff's uniform in the video.
Bianco's endorsement may violate the Hatch Act, which was passed in 1939, and is meant to limit federal and state employees from participating in certain political actions.
In an official memo, Tulare County, California, says that county employees who are covered by the Hatch Act may not "use their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or a nomination for office. This means that employees covered by the Hatch Act may not use their job titles in partisan political endorsements."
"I know you're supporting a felon, but that doesn't give you the license to start committing crimes yourself," Thurmond said in his video.
Thurmond also called out Bianco for his former membership in the Oath Keepers, one of the groups that participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying, "[It's] clear this former Oath Keeper forgot to keep his actual oath, which is to the people and to the rule of law."
Bianco claims that the endorsement in uniform wasn't wrong, saying on the FOX 11 News at 6 p.m. Thursday night, advisors told him "bottom line, because I'm an elected official, Sheriff, and my position is different than everybody else's — my badge is a ‘Chad Bianco, Sheriff’ badge; it's not a ‘Riverside County Sheriffs’ badge — it's not the same."
Bianco said the reaction to the video surprised him.
"It's just so bizarre to me that the two and a half minutes of that video talking about the complete failed system in California, in this failed social experiment, and the only thing anyone wants to comment on is an endorsement for President Trump," Bianco said.
He also called Thurman's call for an investigation "ironic" and "hypocritical," adding that "his biggest victory that he really touts is that he passed a bill… that took away the punishment for criminals."
While Thurmond claimed that Bianco was running for the California governorship in his video, Bianco has not announced his candidacy. Bianco told FOX 11 that he was "looking into" running.