Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco attends Republican National Convention
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Each day has a theme playing off of former President Donald Trump’s tagline and Tuesday's was “Make America Safe Once Again” something Bianco thinks will help conservatives win in November.
This year’s RNC is welcoming Riverside County’s top cop among the thousands of attendees.
“I’m excited to be here. I was excited to learn that I was picked to come and it’s been great so far,” Bianco told News Channel 3's Jennifer Franco.
Speaking from his hotel room, Sheriff Chad Bianco said he was flying to the convention Saturday when he learned about the assassination attempt on Trump.
“When Former President Trump did come out, what was the energy like there in the crowd?” Jennifer asked Bianco.
“It was extremely loud. They were very excited. There were a lot of people crying. It was an emotional time. It was a happy time. His family was there,” Bianco said.
Bianco says the state of politics in the U.S. – along with recent events – will play a role in getting Americans out to the polls this November.
“There are people that are saying I’m switching from Democrat I cannot support that anymore and I will be voting for Trump,” Bianco said.
A recent PEW research poll shows Trump with a 4 percentage point lead over Biden in the wake of their June 27th debate – with 44% of people polled saying they would vote for Trump – while 40% would vote for Biden.
When asked about Trump picking Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate, Bianco said its not who he thought Trump would pick but...
“In the end, it's like well I guess that makes perfect sense. He’s young, he’s successful, he’s a military veteran. He’s a regular normal person,” Bianco said.
When asked what he thinks about Vance’s prior criticism of Trump, he had this to say.
“He changed his mind and to be perfectly honest with you that is a leader. A leader will admit when they may have been wrong,” Bianco said.
And with a possible run for California governor still up in the air, Jennifer asked Bianco about what the future holds for him.
“I am certainly moving in a direction and it's just horrible timing I’m not going to take any limelight I’m not going to take anything away from anyone else,” Bianco said.
Bianco said right now his focus is making sure Prop 36 gets passed. The measure asks voters to change parts of Prop 47 – a controversial ballot initiative passed in 2014 that turned some nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors.
Bianco says he won’t make any decision about a possible gubernatorial run before the November election.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.
