Sorry, sheriff, you got Trumped by a felon in the White House | Opinion
Well, that’s gratitude for you.
Sheriff Chad Bianco has been nothing but loyal to Donald Trump — you may remember that he urged voters to “Put a Felon in the White House” during the 2024 presidential campaign — and what does he get in return?
The president goes and endorses The Other Republican Guy for governor — without so much as throwing Bianco a bone.
That “other guy” is Steve Hilton, who has been sitting atop the polls alongside Bianco, causing Democrats no end of anguish as they contemplate the possibility of being shut out of the general election.
That appears less likely now.
If the president’s blessing unites California Republicans behind Hilton, that means Bianco’s numbers will drop, leaving an opening for a Democrat. Which one is still anyone’s guess.
Republicans want a dog in the fight
The president could have emulated Gov. Gavin Newsom by staying out of the fray, but that came with a risk. Some Republican leaders were concerned that neither of their candidates would make the top two, which could happen if GOP votes were evenly split between Hilton and Bianco.
And with no candidate in the governor’s race, conservatives might be disinclined to vote in November.
“Republican voters will say, ‘Why bother going to the polls. We don’t even have a candidate running for governor,” GOP Assemblymember Carl DeMaio said in a YouTube video.
Seems hard to believe that Republicans would have to be dragged to the polls, especially since a voter ID initiative will likely be on the ballot, but apparently party leaders did not want to take any chances on Trump’s watch.
“Trump’s endorsement has everything to do with trying to consolidate support behind at least one Republican so that we can help the down-ticket races,” DeMaio said, “particularly some of the congressional races that Trump wants to win in California.”
Team Hilton or Team Bianco?
But why Hilton, a one-time environmentalist who wasn’t even born in the U.S.A., as Bianco’s supporters are quick to point out?
The president didn’t say much in his Truth Social endorsement, other than that Steve is a “fine man” he’s “known and respected” for many years, and he’s sure Steve will make California “better than ever before!”
There’s got to be more to it than that, right?
Maybe Trump was charmed by the suave English accent or Hilton’s resume, which includes serving as adviser to a conservative British prime minister and a stint on Fox News. Or maybe it was Hilton’s catchy campaign slogan, “Make California Golden Again.”
Or did the president believe the drivel from Hilton and other Bianco detractors, who’ve labeled the sheriff a RINO (Republican in name only) because he once knelt with protesters at a Black Lives Matter march and is allegedly soft on undocumented immigrants?
No way.
We’re talking about a sheriff who passes out concealed carry permits like candy, believes homelessness is the result of “drug-induced psychosis” and just seized hundreds of thousands of Prop. 50 ballots to placate election deniers — a move straight out of the MAGA playbook.
Plus, he has strong backing from the state’s law enforcement community. (Take that, Hilton.)
Bianco isn’t out of the game yet; he’s made that clear by tossing around jabs on social media:
“While Steve Hilton partied with his friend Gavin Newsom, I was defying his covid mandates. While Steve Hilton raised money for black lives matter, I ended their riots. I’ve been suing Newsom to end sanctuary state laws. I’ve led the fights no one else would. Steve talks. I get things done.”
This sheriff isn’t about to let the loss of a mere presidential endorsement stop him, and his supporters are hanging right in there with him.
“I think Trump knows that his endorsement in a ‘deep blue’ state is an election death sentence,” one shared on Facebook. “This is what I’m hoping for at least…”
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
