GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Bianco, Hilton Assail Newsom Over L.A. Riots

The two current GOP Gubernatorial candidate front runners, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) and former director of strategy for the UK Prime Minister and Fox News contributor Steve Hilton (R), continued to make big pushes this week, going after the policies of Governor Gavin Newsom, crime, illegal immigration, sanctuary policies, and other issues amidst the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.

For Sheriff Bianco, the current L.A. riots brought about minimal change in his stances, as he has been against illegal immigration and vowed to help ICE since he began his campaign in February. Even only a few days before the ICE illegal immigration raids and subsequent protests, Bianco was in Northern California, vowing to reopen prisons across the state to help cut back on crime, including the Susanville California Correctional Center prison in Lassen County.

“We will reopen Susanville. We will reopen every prison that Gov. Newsom has closed, and I vow to build more prisons to keep these criminals off of our streets and out of our neighborhoods,” stressed Bianco. “I want to make crime illegal again.”

Hilton, who only began his campaign in April, has taken similar stances, with both also being supporters of President Donald Trump. So when the protests and riots began, there was little shift in message needed, with both candidates being amongst the first to release statements on the escalating situation in L.A, as well as criticizing Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass for their responses.

“President Trump didn’t start these riots. He’s not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways. This statement is an embarrassment and does nothing to diffuse the violent riots taking place across the city,” said Bianco during the weekend. “The Democrats and their ‘leaders’ own this. Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Karen Bass and the Democrats want you to think this is a ‘peaceful protest.’ Don’t let them gaslight you. This is Gavin’s Lawless California. Our state deserves better.

“An adherence to law is an absolute requirement if we are to remain a civilized society.”

“In this appalling statement you are siding with violent criminals over California communities; rioters over law enforcement; illegal immigrants over legal immigrants and American citizens,” added Hilton. You are a pandering machine politician who should never hold public office again.”

As the week continued, both became sought after guests to speak out about the situation. Bianco came at it from a law enforcement angle, stressing hat the situation in Los Angeles was indeed a riot and no longer just a protest.

“Every single person watching television right now in Los Angeles, in California, for that matter, knows that this is politics that have caused this,” Bianco said in a NewsMax interview. “Twenty years of liberal progressive politics, that have enabled criminal behavior and prevented law enforcement from doing our jobs, is where we are today. And people are absolutely sick of it.

“You heard the chief from the second-largest law enforcement agency in the country saying that he was being overrun while he is being helped by the largest sheriff’s department in the country. And so, we have local Southern California law enforcement that have responded to assist.

“We have thousands of law enforcement officers that you’re seeing it on TV. It is a riot. These are not protests. These are criminals who are vandalizing and trying to harm individuals, law enforcement. And that is exactly what it is. This is no longer a protest. Stop calling it a protest. This is violence in the street by people who are only there for that violence.”

“Gavin Newsom has been dishonest about what’s happening in LA since day one. He and Karen Bass own the destruction and mayhem happening in Los Angeles,” added Bianco in an X post.

Bianco, Hilton and more

Hilton, meanwhile, went after sanctuary policies for being a main reason behind the riots.

“The thing I don’t understand and people watching don’t understand is why it has taken so long to get a grip of the situation,” said Hilton on Fox News. “To get control. [Military intervention] should have been done right at the beginning. Unless you get control of it early on, they escalate and spiral out of control causing immense damage and destruction and violence. It sends such a terrible image of our city and our state to the rest of the world.

“This all could have been avoided if we didn’t have the sanctuary policy here in California. The reason that you have these kinds of operations is because the local law enforcement refuses to cooperate with ICE. That’s why they have to go into the community.”

And it hasn’t just been the two main GOP declared candidates to weigh in. Speculative and potential candidates, including Special Presidential Envoy Ric Grenell, who has vowed that he will only enter the race if former Vice President Kamala Harris does, backed Trump as well.

“Thank God Donald Trump acted quickly to send in more law enforcement officials to Los Angeles – he saved us,” posted Grenell. “The riots would have gone on for days with hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Gavin Newsom has now rushed to the San Francisco courts, not Los Angeles, to find the most Left wing judges to play politics.”

As with Democratic candidates, the riots are proving to be quite the opportunity to nail down issues stances, as well as make their views of them known ahead of upcoming debates. As what is said now can come back to candidates months from now, the stances they hold now could make or break them in the primary, with the riots themselves likely to be a major issue when debates start later this year.