Tommy ChristopherApr 23rd, 2026, 1:51 pm

Candidate and commentator Steve Hilton defended President Donald Trump at a debate and said that he and Trump would work together to “lower gas prices” should voters elect him governor of California.

Six candidates faced off Wednesday night in the first California gubernatorial debate since Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) exited the race under a cloud of sexual misconduct allegations, including claims of sexual assault.

Two GOP candidates — Ex-Fox Newser Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — took the stage with four Democrats: Porter, billionaire Tom Steyer, former Biden HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

The Nexstar debate was moderated by anchors Nikki Laurenzo of FOX40 and Frank Buckley of KTLA 5.

In one exchange, Buckley confronted Hilton over Trump’s low approval among Californians and asked “Are those Californians wrong?”

Hilton stuck by Trump and cited gas prices among the areas his relationship with Trump could be a benefit:

FRANK BUCKLEY: You said you were deeply honored to recently receive President Trump’s endorsement. That’s despite the fact that 62% of Californians disapprove of the job he is doing.

Are those Californians wrong? You have 60 seconds.

STEVE HILTON: One of the proudest days of my life was the day I became an American citizen. It happened in a ceremony right here in San Francisco. So it is a deep honor for me to be endorsed by the President of the United States.

And here’s the thing that’s gonna help every Californian when I’m governor, is that we will have a constructive relationship and partnership with the federal government, which would be the case, I would hope, for any party in that situation.

So that we can make things better in California, work with the president and his administration to manage our forests better, to harvest the timber so we can build the single-family homes we need for our young families.

To work to increase California energy production as he wants to do so we can lower gas prices.

To fight the fraud in our government so we can cut spending and cut taxes.

To work to enforce our immigration laws in all these areas and more.

It will benefit every Californian to have a Governor who is a partner on these issues with the President and his team.

Watch above via KTLA.

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