{"id":13030,"date":"2026-05-21T20:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/21\/trump-is-supporting-spencer-pratt-in-the-la-mayors-race-it-may-be-a-poisoned-pill-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T20:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:15:02","slug":"trump-is-supporting-spencer-pratt-in-the-la-mayors-race-it-may-be-a-poisoned-pill-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/21\/trump-is-supporting-spencer-pratt-in-the-la-mayors-race-it-may-be-a-poisoned-pill-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump is supporting Spencer Pratt in the LA mayor\u2019s race. It may be a poisoned pill – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> endorsement is typically a boon for candidates seeking elected office \u2013 a show of support, or disapproval, from the president has proved significant in races across the US this year.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s recent comments on the Los Angeles mayor\u2019s race, just weeks before the primary, are sure to benefit Democrats. The president spoke favorably of Spencer Pratt<\/a>, a former Republican and reality TV star who is polling second in the contest to lead America\u2019s second-largest city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to see him do well. I don\u2019t know him. I assume he probably supports me,\u201d Trump told a reporter on Wednesday. \u201cI heard he\u2019s a big Maga person.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/gu-island><\/figure>\n

Pratt\u2019s rise has shaken up the mayoral race in the deep-blue city. Best known as the villain of the reality TV hit The Hills, Pratt lost his home in last year\u2019s wildfires and became a vocal critic of the city\u2019s response to the disaster and the leadership of its mayor, Karen Bass<\/a>. Pratt has successfully harnessed anger over the slow pace of recovery, a cost-of-living crisis and an enduring homelessness emergency to advance his campaign.<\/p>\n

Pratt is polling<\/a> second in the race, behind Bass, a longtime state lawmaker, congresswoman, community organizer and high-profile Democrat.<\/p>\n

Still, Pratt has his work cut out trying to win over skeptical voters and defeat Bass and the progressive city councilor Nithya Raman.<\/p>\n

As Zev Yaroslavsky, who spent almost four decades in local politics, recently told the Guardian, the most unpopular person in Los Angeles is Donald Trump<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s where Pratt has vulnerability,\u201d Yaroslavsky, who is the director of the Los Angeles initiative at UCLA Luskin\u2019s School of Public Affairs, said in an interview last week.<\/p>\n

The city has long been a liberal stronghold. Trump has been particularly unpopular in Los Angeles<\/a>, even more so after last year, when immigration agents began detaining people in city streets, sparking widespread protests. The president deployed the US military to quell the backlash.<\/p>\n

Pratt, previously a registered Republican, has said throughout the campaign he is not Maga, arguing his focus as mayor would be solely on the city rather than national politics.<\/p>\n

But his opponents were quick to seize on Trump\u2019s nod of approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth Trump and Pratt want ICE to invade our city and kidnap our neighbors. I stood up to ICE to protect our communities,\u201d Bass said in response to the news, adding that neither of her challengers are \u201cup to the job\u201d.<\/p>\n

Raman said Trump wants a foothold in one of the nation\u2019s most progressive cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no surprise Donald Trump supports his LA Apprentice and \u2018Big MAGA person\u2019 Spencer Pratt,\u201d Raman wrote. \u201cYour vote for my campaign stops Spencer Pratt from making it to the general election.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratt cannot come across as a conservative Republican if he wants to win the race, political analysts have said. He has had to tread a fine line as a candidate, acknowledging the support he has received from prominent Republicans<\/a> while seeking to appeal to a diverse electorate by tapping into the long-brewing frustrations over quality-of-life issues in the city.<\/p>\n

In an interview with CNN<\/a> earlier this week, Pratt said he previously registered as a Republican because the party supported permits for concealed carry weapons. He said he obtained guns after receiving death threats while he was on reality TV.<\/p>\n

The subject of Trump\u2019s support for Pratt came up during an interview<\/a> on Billy Bush\u2019s podcast.<\/p>\n

His priorities are local issues, such as water and power, the police, the fire department, potholes and sidewalks and streetlights, Pratt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat has nothing to do with national politics or who is in the White House,\u201d he said. \u201cI keep telling people it\u2019s a nonpartisan race.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement is typically a boon for candidates seeking elected office \u2013 a show of support, or disapproval, from the president has proved significant in races across the US this year. But Trump\u2019s recent comments on the Los Angeles mayor\u2019s race, just weeks before the primary, are sure to benefit Democrats. The president spoke […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}