Mixed Signals from Semafor Media · 2026-07-17 · 50 min
Steve Hilton has lived many lives: a key strategist to former British Prime Minister David Cameron, a populist Fox News host, and - after renouncing his UK citizenship - the Republican nominee in California’s gubernatorial race. Max and Ben ask him about a career that has intertwined politics and media at every turn, why he succeeded in a primary where Spencer Pratt failed, and how he balances conservative media’s portrayal of California with a campaign to lead the state. They also discuss whether David Ellison’s Paramount would really flee Hollywood, what people get wrong about the Murdochs, and what he really thinks about the character he inspired on The Thick of It .
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