Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton accused Democrats of using President Donald Trump as a scapegoat for their own policy failures, calling the blame-shifting a “total lie” in response to the escalating immigration enforcement crisis in California.

Hilton, running to replace Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, sharply criticized California’s leadership during an appearance Monday night on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” saying Democrats were falsely blaming Trump for chaos stemming from an ongoing federal immigration crackdown in Southern California.

“Of course, it’s not [true],” Hilton said when asked if Trump had escalated the situation by deploying troops. “It’s a total lie. Basically, everything that Newsom and the Democrats have been saying is a lie.”

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