The Trump-endorsed Brit running for California governor
6/9/202627 min
A British immigrant backed by President Trump is running to be the next governor of California. Once a senior advisor to former prime minister David Cameron, Steve Hilton has since been on a journey – swapping Downing Street for Silicon Valley.
Having made his home in the US, Hilton is now running to become California’s Republican governor on a platform of cutting taxes and regulation.
We speak to Nicholas Watt, political editor of BBC Newsnight, who has known Hilton since his days advising Cameron.
Producers: Viv Jones and Aron Keller
Mix: Travis Evans
Video producer: Matt Pintus
Executive producer: James Shield
Senior news editor: China Collins
Photo: California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton. Credit: Reuters /Mike Blake
Audio for this episode was updated on 9th June 2026 to clarify Steve Hilton's views on Brexit.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTristan Redman· Host0:00
Hello, friends. Tristan here. A quick housekeeping note before we start. This week we're recording a FIFA World Cup listeners' questions episode. Anything you wanna know about the World Cup, we've had loads of great questions already, but please send any more pressing ones you might have to the usual, theglobalstory@bbc.com. Thanks so much, and on with the show.
Speaker 10:22
Imagine if an American political advisor like Steve Bannon, or back in the day, James Carville, turned up in another country running for office. Let's say they were running for the mayor of London.
Tristan Redman· Host0:35
I think the answer is, Asma, they would be a long shot. They'd be a bit of a curiosity, and people in London might be thinking something along the lines of, "Who on earth is this dude?"
Speaker 10:46
Well, that's kind of what's going on right now in the US. [upbeat music] A British immigrant backed by President Trump is running to be the next governor of California. Now, that election is in November, and right now votes are still being counted in the primary. But the fact that a former British political strategist named Steve Hilton is even in the mix is unusual. From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, DC.
Tristan Redman· Host1:12
And I'm Tristan Redmond with the skinny from the other side of the Atlantic. Today on The Global Story, who is Steve Hilton, and how did he become a candidate for the governor of California?
Unknown speaker1:27
[upbeat music]