{"id":506884,"date":"2026-01-10T20:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/506884\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T20:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T20:04:20","slug":"maga-enters-the-mayors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/506884\/","title":{"rendered":"MAGA enters the mayor’s race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record \u2014 our City Hall newsletter. It\u2019s Noah Goldberg giving you the latest on city and county government. <\/p>\n

For a long time, Spencer Pratt<\/b> refused to be put into a political box. <\/p>\n

The reality-television-personality-turned-national-figure-turned-mayoral-candidate told the New York Times<\/a> in October that he hated politics and didn\u2019t identify with either major party. He \u201cdemurred\u201d when asked by the Hollywood Reporter<\/a> about his personal politics. <\/p>\n

But the supporters who are beginning to line up behind Pratt have made one thing clear: MAGA has entered the Los Angeles mayoral race, just one day after \u201cThe Hills\u201d alumnus announced he\u2019s running<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite his nonpartisan statements, Pratt has become a darling of the right wing, meeting with influential Republicans across the country who have latched onto his sharp criticism of Mayor Karen Bass<\/b> and Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/b> over their handling of the Palisades fire. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, Pratt, who lost his home in the fire, finally commented on his political affiliation, saying he has been a registered Republican since 2020. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to change it now just to check a different box,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cThis is a non-partisan race \u2014 there will be no D or R next to my name. As Mayor, I will not serve either party. I will work with anyone who wants to help the city. No labels necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

The confirmation of Pratt\u2019s political affiliation came as endorsements flowed in from across the country \u2014 and not from Democrats, for the most part. <\/p>\n

Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott <\/b>of Florida, who has launched a congressional investigation into the response to the Palisades fire, posted on X<\/a> that he was \u201cglad\u201d Pratt decided to run for mayor. Scott has toured the Palisades with Pratt, and the two met in Washington, D.C.,<\/a> after Scott announced the investigation.<\/p>\n

Pratt was also endorsed by Richard Grenell<\/b>, who is President Trump\u2019s Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI endorse Spencer Pratt for Mayor of Los Angeles and will help raise money for him. Transparency is what we need. Spencer has the passion and the drive to make positive change for Los Angeles,\u201d Grenell wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Closer to home, Pratt picked up an endorsement<\/a> from Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco<\/b>, a Trump supporter and a Republican candidate for governor.<\/p>\n

\u201cLA needs him, California needs him. He\u2019s got integrity and the backbone we need,\u201d Bianco posted on X. <\/p>\n

Roxanne Hoge<\/b>, chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, said the group welcomes into the mayoral race \u201cevery common sense voice who stands for good governance and stands for representing the people over public sector unions and developers and NGOs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoge said she has a \u201cgreat affinity\u201d for Pratt, whom she called a personal friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI support his willingness to speak up and be a voice for the voiceless,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Hoge said the county organization has not endorsed in the race. <\/p>\n

Former City Councilmember Mike Bonin<\/b>, who represented Pacific Palisades until 2024, said Pratt and Trump have many similarities. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the model of who he is as candidate, it\u2019s similar to Trump: the reality television background; his most visible communication presence is on Twitter, just as Trump\u2019s was. And he\u2019s sort of developing a candidacy around frustration and blowing the system up, just like Trump did,\u201d Bonin said. <\/p>\n

Bonin said Pratt\u2019s entry into the race could be \u201cperilous\u201d for Bass.<\/p>\n

The mayor has also tried to tie Pratt to Trump, seeking to position herself as the anti-MAGA candidate in a deep blue city. <\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump and Spencer Pratt are cut from the same cloth \u2014 two Republican, reality star villains running with MAGA backing, spewing disinformation and misinformation to create profit and division. Good luck with that in Los Angeles,\u201d said Doug<\/b> Herman<\/b>, a spokesperson for Bass\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n

Candidates will be judged by the people they associate with, Bonin added.<\/p>\n

\u201cShow me who you walk with and I\u2019ll tell you who you are,\u201d said Bonin, who is executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

Rick Caruso<\/b>, a former Republican who registered as a Democrat when he ran against Bass in 2022, has tried to distance himself from Trump. Caruso said during his mayoral campaign that he never supported Trump for president or donated to his campaigns.<\/p>\n

Caruso, a billionaire developer who is considering a run for either mayor or governor, said he hadn\u2019t spoken with Pratt in months but that he was glad the social media influencer was joining the race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great [that Pratt is running],\u201d Caruso said. \u201cI think the more people that actively get in government service the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratt did not respond to multiple texts requesting comment. A member of his team said he is \u201ccurrently embargoed from doing interviews because of other projects that were previously in play before he announced.\u201d<\/p>\n

A campaign staffer did not specify what the other projects were and said Pratt would be able to speak in early February.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re reading the L.A. on the Record newsletter State of play<\/p>\n

\u2014 A YEAR OF FIRES<\/b>: A year after two of the most destructive wildfires in California history erupted just hours apart, survivors marked the day in Altadena and Pacific Palisades with a mixture of anger and somber remembrance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 ENTER PRATT<\/b>: Spencer Pratt announced his candidacy for mayor of Los Angeles on the anniversary of the Palisades fire. Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag<\/b>, lost their home in the fire. Since then, the reality TV personality has become a vocal critic of Bass and Newsom.<\/p>\n

\u2014 WATERED DOWN: <\/b>LAFD Chief Jaime Moore<\/b> admitted Tuesday<\/a> that his department\u2019s after-action report on the Palisades fire was watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/b> REPORT AND<\/b> REFINE: <\/b>The head of the Los Angeles Fire Commission said Tuesday that a \u201cworking draft\u201d of the after-action report was sent to the mayor\u2019s office<\/a> for \u201crefinements\u201d before it was published last October. She added that in her long career in civic roles, she had learned that words like \u201crefinements\u201d could mean troubling changes to a government report, made for the purpose of hiding facts.<\/p>\n

\u2014 FINAL ADDRESS: <\/b>In his final State of the State address<\/a>, Newsom shifted from the problem-solving posture that defined his early years in office to a more declarative accounting of California\u2019s achievements, casting the state as a counterweight to dysfunction in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u2014 KILLINGS PLUMMET: <\/b>There were 230 homicides in Los Angeles<\/a> in 2025, according to the LAPD. That was a 19% drop from 2024 and the fewest the city has seen since 1966, when the population was 30% smaller.<\/p>\n

\u2014 MAYORAL MOVES<\/b>: Bass spokesperson Clara Karger<\/b> is leaving the mayor\u2019s office and heading to public affairs firm Fiona Hutton & Associates<\/a>. Karger was with Bass\u2019 team for nearly three years. Her departure comes months after Bass\u2019 deputy mayor for communications Zach Seidl<\/b> left. Seidl was replaced by Amanda Crumley<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 LA|DC|NYC<\/b>: Anna Bahr<\/b>, who worked as a deputy press secretary for former Mayor Eric Garcetti and then ran communications for Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/b>, is headed to the Big Apple to run communications for newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/b><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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