‘Smoke And Mirrors’: Sheriff Criticizes Kamala For Using His Image In Border Security Ad

A California sheriff has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for using his image in a presidential campaign ad portraying herself as someone who is tough on crime and the border.

Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, who appears in the background of a recent Harris ad, lashed out at Harris on Monday for using his likeness without her permission. He told Fox News that he does not support Harris’ presidential bid and said she was never concerned about securing the border when she was California’s attorney general.

“In light of a recent political ad by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff Boudreaux and other local law enforcement officials, the Sheriff wants to make it clear that his likeness is being used without his permission and that he is NOT endorsing Harris for President or any other political office,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Boudreaux’s image appears in the ad in a video from when Harris made a stop in the Central Valley more than a decade ago. The ad says Harris “took on drug cartels” and “locked up gang members for smuggling guns and drugs across the border.”

“I would also like to point out the misleading information that is being projected in that same political advertisement,” Boudreaux said. “The truth is that Harris never cared about the cartels and did nothing to stop people from crossing the border illegally.”

Sheriff Boudreaux, a 37-year veteran of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and former president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, said Harris was trying to take credit for the work of local law enforcement.

“We were in the green room. She never came in and said hello to any of us. She walked up, gave her press conference, literally walked away and never said hello to any of us,” Boudreaux said. “I’m disgusted because, you know, she didn’t shake hands. She didn’t say hello. And she took credit for all the work that the locals did.”

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He said the ad was “all smoke and mirrors” and that its description of Harris as a tough “borderline state prosecutor” was at odds with the facts.

Golden State Justice, a political action committee that supports Boudreaux, said in a statement to Fox that Harris is “undermining” law enforcement efforts to stop gun and drug trafficking across the border.

“She has repeatedly dismantled and shut down task forces meant to protect our residents, leaving the Valley and our state vulnerable,” the PAC said. “Kamala’s sad attempt to portray herself as a tough guy on the border by implying that I support her — and the support of neighboring law enforcement leaders — is pathetic.”