Donald Trump said he made a Trump California election probe request when he told the Department of Justice to look into California elections, linking that effort to Steve Hilton’s primary race. Speaking at a rally in Macungie, Pennsylvania, Trump said he called Bill Essayli and asked him to take a look at the vote count.
Trump said, “Do me a favor. Take a look, they are trying to steal that election, too,” and later added, “Had I not made that call, Steve Hilton would right now be watching the election from home.” Hilton finished second in California’s jungle primary system, where the top two candidates advance to November.
Bill Essayli and June 5
Bill Essayli announced on June 5 that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles was probing California’s elections. Trump described that step as the reason Hilton moved on, saying, “Over the next week, he was definitely going to lose, but the U.S. attorney called, ‘We want to check your votes,’” while describing the review in public remarks.
The timeline matters because Trump’s comments came while California’s vote count was still unfolding. In that system, early returns do not settle the race; later-counted ballots can change who finishes in the top two, and Hilton’s advance placed him opposite Xavier Becerra in November.
California’s jungle primary system
Trump also used the rally to press for the SAVE America Act, saying, “California’s totally rigged. It’s a disgrace. We gotta pass the SAVE America Act, okay? Gotta pass it,”. Hilton has supported passing a state-level version of the SAVE America Act in California.
For readers following California’s gubernatorial primary, the immediate result is simple: Hilton remains in the general election after finishing second, and Trump has now described a federal election probe as part of that outcome. The open issue is what exactly Bill Essayli’s California election probe examined and what, if anything, it found.
