Becerra Defends California’s Cost of Living, Blames Trump for Price Spikes

California Democratic gubernatorial nominee Xavier Becerra pushed back this week on criticism that his state has become unaffordable, arguing that high costs are a national problem made worse by President Trump’s policies rather than a uniquely California failure.

Speaking on CNN’s “The Story Is” on Wednesday, Becerra was asked by host Elex Michaelson about Republican rival Steve Hilton’s argument that California is heading in the wrong direction on homelessness, high-speed rail and overall affordability.

“Well, first, it is expensive, but tell me a state that isn’t. Every state’s expensive,” Becerra said. He pointed to gas prices as an example, saying Californians are paying “about $2 more than you were before Donald Trump started this war in Iran.”

Becerra also linked rising grocery costs to tariff policy and higher housing costs to pricier building materials, saying both stem from the Trump administration’s actions. “Let’s be honest, the cost of living was already big. Donald Trump just made it worse. Interest rates are up, mortgage rates are up, the inflation is up,” he said, adding that Trump had promised during his 2024 campaign to lower costs and “done just the opposite.”

Michaelson pressed Becerra on whether state regulation and national events could both be contributing factors, asking, “Couldn’t two things be true, that the regulations in California make it more expensive, and the war with Iran makes gas more expensive?”

Becerra acknowledged a need for change on the state level. “There’s no doubt that, in California, we’re going to trim back some of our regulations, cut some of the red tape, because we don’t have a choice but to make sure that California families can survive here,” he said. But he maintained that state rules were not behind the sharpest price increases at the pump, saying, “It’s not the regulations that brought gasoline to over $6 a gallon. It’s not regulations that brought diesel to close to $9 a gallon in California. That was Trump’s war in Iran. And we’ve got to tackle that.”