California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton touts ‘constructive relationship’ with Trump

[0:00] As we noted, it's a big night for midterm primaries, including some marquee races in [0:03] California, we mentioned, like the battle for governor. Joining me right now is Steve Hilton, [0:08] the Republican candidate endorsed by President Trump in that contest. Mr. Hilton, thank you so [0:13] much for joining us. You're billing yourself as a change candidate. You've been endorsed by the [0:19] current president, as we mentioned. How will Donald Trump's support help you in a state he [0:23] lost by more than 20 percentage points in 2024? Well, Gabe, it's great to be with you, [0:28] and I just have to say, you've really made my day, perhaps my year, with the fact that Steve [0:32] there, the great Steve Kornacki, actually talked about my race. I've been a fan for many, many [0:37] years, so it's wonderful to be with you. Look, I understand that people will look at the endorsement [0:42] of the president and look at the politics in California and say, well, that doesn't really [0:45] help. Let me try and lay out how I see it. First of all, it is a primary, and of course, [0:51] a big part of the primary is to get a big turnout among Republican voters. It's a top two primary, [0:56] so it's not just Republican voters that we've been speaking to. We speak to everyone in this [1:02] campaign, and my entire campaign is built in a pretty nonpartisan way. It's just common sense, [1:08] pragmatic things to cut people's costs, help businesses fix our schools. But the second [1:12] thing I think that's really important about the president's endorsement, and this will really [1:16] come to the fore in the general election, which I plan to be one of the two participants in, [1:22] is that I think it's helpful for Californians to have a candidate and then a governor who actually [1:27] has a constructive relationship with the president, who can then work together, as the president said [1:33] in his post today, to deliver good things for Californians. There are so many things we can do, [1:38] for example, opening up energy production in California so we can lower gas prices, [1:43] fighting fraud in our budgets so we can return money to taxpayers, managing our forests so we can [1:49] reduce the risk of massive wildfires. On all these things, you've actually got a governor today, [1:55] Gavin Newsom, who's fighting the president and his team when they're trying to do common sense [2:00] things to help California. I'll be very different. [2:02] And, Mr. Hilton, you mentioned energy. That's a huge issue, of course, in California. You've actually [2:08] focused a lot of your campaign on cost of living issues. So on that point, do you support the [2:13] president's handling of the war in Iran, given the impact it has had on energy prices and inflation? [2:20] Well, my focus is on what we do in California on energy prices. And even with the war, of course, [2:26] the war has increased oil prices across the board. But even on top of that increase, [2:30] you've got a $2 elevated gas price in California today, over and above what's going on in the rest of [2:38] the country. In fact, the gas prices you're seeing in the rest of the country that are causing an [2:43] outcry in terms of how high they are, that would actually be low for California prior to the war [2:50] because it's the policies of the Democrats in California that have given us the highest gas [2:56] prices in the country. Even though we have abundant oil reserves, one of the most incoherent parts of [3:02] their policy is the fact that actually we are now importing nearly 80% of the oil that we use in [3:08] California, even though we have abundant reserves here. That actually increases carbon emissions. [3:13] So it's not even helping the environmental agenda that is all being done in the name of. So I think [3:19] we just need some common sense here. While we're using oil and gas, let's use California oil and gas. [3:24] That'll help us bring the costs down. And Mr. Hilton, here's what the president posted on social media [3:29] about you this morning. He said, California vote today for Steve Hilton for governor. He'll work [3:34] with me in the federal government. The money will flow because I have confidence in him. Do you read [3:40] that as the president threatening to withhold federal funding from California unless you are elected? [3:48] No, I see it as a positive statement of how we can work constructively together. [3:53] I think that the main point is actually that what we need to do in California is fix the problems [3:59] that we've created here. Most of the things that are driving Californians crazy, the fact that we [4:05] have the highest housing costs in the country. We don't build enough houses. The fact that we've got [4:10] homelessness that really hasn't been had a dent put in it despite billions of dollars being spent over [4:16] the years. The fact that our school results are among the worst in the country, even though we spend [4:21] among the highest, $28,000 per student per year. All of these things are the result of things that we [4:27] control in California. And I really think we need to, as Californians, understand that we have our [4:34] destiny in our hands. It's what we do here in California that affects the daily lives of [4:40] Californians more than anything else. And we've now got 56% of Californians in the latest poll saying [4:47] that the state's going in the wrong direction and needs change. That's why I'm confident that if I get [4:53] into the general election, as I plan to do, in November, despite what people may think, [4:58] we will vote for change in California because people just can't take it anymore. [5:04] So California redrew its congressional map earlier this year. You opposed that effort. So do you also [5:09] oppose redistricting efforts taken by Republican-controlled states in other parts of the country? [5:14] Yeah, these redistricting wars, I don't think were what we needed to have been focused on for the past [5:22] year or so, because I think the way to win elections is to persuade people you've got the best ideas [5:29] and the best plans to execute. And that's certainly what I'm doing in California. Of course, [5:33] it's important to remember that even before the redistricting that Gavin Newsom initiated this year [5:39] in response, he claims, to what was going on elsewhere in the country, California was already heavily [5:45] gerrymandered. In terms of the House seats, Republicans regularly get 40% of the vote [5:50] in California in statewide elections, yet we only had 17% of the congressional seats. Now it's down to [5:56] six. So it's gone even more extreme. But generally speaking, I think we want to focus on our plans [6:03] to make people's lives better. Steve Hilton, running for governor of California. We thank you so much [6:08] for your time. Thank you and good luck tonight. [6:10] We thank you for watching and remember, stay updated on breaking news and top stories on the NBC News app [6:16] or watch live on our YouTube channel.