Steve Hilton, Republican candidate for California governor, blamed Democrats for Hollywood’s exodus from the state.
“Who’s been in charge when all those jobs have gone when this industry has collapsed?” he said. “The [California] Democrats have been in charge for 16 years, and the jobs have gone, the industries have gone, and this city, this iconic industry, is on the brink of collapse,”
“My plan to bring Hollywood home would make us competitive with the best in the world and reduce the bureaucracy and the red tape, which also has been piled on by Xavier [Becerra,] and his friends,” Hilton added.
Democratic candidate Xavier Becerra argued his experience with the first film and TV federal tax credit program makes him uniquely equipped to tackle the production crisis plaguing the state.
“We lost some 50,000 jobs in Los Angeles, California, from the film and movie industry. These are middle class jobs,” Becerra said. “I’m not talking about the high paid actors. I’m talking about the grips, the camera people, the people who build the sets. They make a decent living. Those jobs have left. We’ve got to fight Hollywood to keep in Hollywood, and I’ve said I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens.”
Becerra added that if the state gets a tax credit, as long as the state receives $1 back for that dollar in tax credit, he will move forward with it.
The candidates participated in a one-hour debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash on CNN. The debate aired live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and streaming for subscribers.
Outside of Hollywood, the top two candidates debated affordability, AI and immigration, exchanging personal jabs over policy differences throughout.
On the topic of immigration, Becerra stated that Hilton would likely enact President Trump’s immigration policies if elected. (Hilton was endorsed by Trump in the primary election).
“California welcomed you into California, and you welcomed ICE mercenaries into our state in return,” the former state AG said of the Brit. “Here’s the problem I have with your policy: you seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me.”
In response Hilton reupped a talking point from his primary campaign about where he criticized Becerra’s work on immigration as health and human services secretary in the Biden administration. He cited a report in which Becerra’s department mishandled a record surge of unaccompanied migrant minors who arrived at the US-Mexico border.
“I cannot believe that you haven’t apologized, that you have any kind of sense of shame or responsibility for what you did to those children,” he said. “And you stand here lecturing people about immigration when you treated these most vulnerable children, unaccompanied children, in this way.”
The former health and human services secretary clapped back that Trump “used to put kids in cages,” and that his department under Biden changed those policies and protected children.
Hilton jabbed at Becerra later in the debate, saying he had “never created a job” in his 36 years as a politician. Hilton also referenced a report that former domestic policy adviser Susan Rice, who worked with Becerra during President Joe Biden’s administration, called the candidate an “idiot” and a “b-tch ass” in private.
Becerra did not respond to the Rice comment, but he clarified that he had created “millions” of jobs during his time as a politician in California.
