President Donald Trump used a Tuesday speech at a Pennsylvania Mack Trucks plant to make the striking claim that Republican Steve Hilton only advanced in California's governor's race because Trump personally called a federal prosecutor to intervene.
"I called up the very powerful, very good U.S. attorney in California and I said, 'Do me a favor, they're trying to steal that election too,'" Trump said, claiming Hilton "was definitely going to lose." He added, "About an hour after the call: 'Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Hilton has won.' If I had not made that call, Steve Hilton would right now be watching the election from home."
Onlookers were taken aback, finding the off-hand remark akin to a startling admission.
Democracy Docket called it "the clearest evidence yet of Trump's weaponization of the DOJ," saying he admitted directing a prosecutor to scrutinize the primary because he feared his candidate would lose.
Sam Stein of the anti-Trump news organization The Bulwark surmised the prosecutor was Bill Essayli, a MAGA prosecutor in Los Angeles.
"Wow. Trump just blurts out that he called up 'the US Attorney in California' (my guess is First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli) to get them to look into the state's election count around Pratt and Hilton. That was a five-alarm scandal when revealed in 2020," noted Stein.
Meanwhile, Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall mocked the logic: "So rigged for Hilton?"
There is no evidence the contest was rigged, and Essayli has previously threatened to investigate California's count over baseless fraud claims tied to reality star Spencer Pratt's mayoral loss. Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra both advanced, with Becerra taking 28.1 percent to Hilton's 24.7 percent. Billionaire Tom Steyer fell short at 22.8 percent.
Rolling Stone drew a stark parallel.
"Trump calling the U.S. attorney to get Hilton over the finish line would not be the first time he’s meddled in an election over the phone. The president famously told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to 'find' the votes necessary to flip the winner of the state’s 2020 Electoral College votes from Joe Biden to Trump, amid his larger effort to overturn Biden’s election win," the outlet noted.