Trump backs Spencer Pratt in Los Angeles mayor’s race

President Donald Trump handed Spencer Pratt a political boost and a political burden at the same time. In remarks on May 20, Trump said he would like to see Pratt “do well” in the Los Angeles mayor’s race and said he had heard Pratt was “a big MAGA person,” a label Democrats have been trying to attach to the former reality TV star since he entered the contest in February.

That matters in Los Angeles, where the mayor’s race has become a test of whether Trump-brand politics can travel in a heavily Democratic city. Pratt has tried to run as an outsider focused on homelessness, crime and city dysfunction, but Trump’s endorsement-style praise may also reinforce the idea that Pratt is the Republican-aligned candidate in a race where the broader electorate still leans blue. For Pratt, that could sharpen support from voters drawn to anti-establishment, law-and-order politics. It could also make it harder to assemble the wider coalition needed to win citywide.

The field is already volatile. Karen Bass, the incumbent mayor, has clashed publicly with Pratt and City Councilmember Nithya Raman over the Palisades fire, police hiring, housing, homelessness and public safety. Pratt has proposed arrests and mandatory drug and addiction treatment to clear the streets, according to the Los Angeles Times, and has been campaigning in the San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks in Raman’s district, where he is trying to win over voters outside the city’s core progressive base.

Pratt’s effort has also been amplified by attention that few candidates can match. One viral campaign ad drew more than 10 million views within a day, turning a celebrity candidacy into a serious media event. A recent profile said the race had tightened enough that Bass was leading, but not by enough to avoid a Nov. 3 runoff with either Pratt or Raman. The June 2 California primary now looms as the first major test of whether Pratt’s online reach can translate into actual votes.

The race is drawing in money and institutional power, too. The Los Angeles Times has reported that labor groups and other political interests are spending heavily, with some unions backing Bass. Analysts cited in that coverage have argued Pratt may be easier for Bass to beat in a runoff than Raman, a reminder that the city’s polarized political terrain can reward or punish candidates for the same reason: who they are seen to represent.

Bass won the 2022 mayor’s race against businessman Rick Caruso, with certified results released Dec. 6, 2022. Three years later, Los Angeles is again headed into a high-stakes contest where national polarization, local fear over public safety and the pull of celebrity politics are all colliding at once.