Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt pitched his California conservative agenda against the rise of socialism in an hourlong interview with Bill Maher on Monday.
Pratt, a former reality TV star running to unseat current Mayor Karen Bass after losing his home in the Palisades fire last year, took aim at the rise of socialism in the United States, offering an alternative for people worried about affordability crises in major U.S. cities.
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“I feel like people are all hyped on socialism because they’re like, ‘Everything’s so expensive, America’s failed, give me money.’ But what they’re forgetting is all the people — that these socialists are saying they’re taking the money [from] and giving it [out] — they’re gonna leave. And then they’re not gonna have any money to take from these people to give to you,” Pratt said.
Pratt, a registered Republican running in deep-blue Los Angeles but gaining significant traction among people resonating with his straightforward message, pitched a Reaganesque economic vision to counter socialism in the modern U.S.
“The way we get you money is stopping the socialism, letting successful rich people build businesses, build restaurants, put money into your pocket, because there’s more jobs, there’s more opportunity. That’s how we actually get you more money,” Pratt said.
Pratt also raised concerns about tax fraud in Los Angeles and across cities where socialism has played out, arguing that “champagne socialist scammers” steal tax money and siphon it away from programs where it should be used.
“The people that should see the money — the communities, the boys’ and girls’ clubs, the parks, the actual infrastructure — doesn’t see that money because different rich people stole the money that was being taxed from the rich people. So I actually feel like Robin Hood, because I’m coming in and I’m gonna say, ‘Where’s all this money?’ We’re done with everyone stealing the tax money,” Pratt said.
Pratt has come within single digits of Bass, the front-runner, and the other Democratic candidate, Councilwoman Nithya Raman, according to the latest poll on the June 2 open primary election. If Pratt can place in the top two of the primary, he will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.
Pratt possibly becoming the next mayor of Los Angeles poses a major juxtaposition to the rise of socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City, where voters turned to Mamdani’s leftist policies to seek out solutions to their affordability crisis. While Mamdani has pushed for higher taxes on New York’s richest residents and rolled out new social welfare programs, he has also dealt with “troubling” job numbers in the city and blowback from businesses and financial firms who are reportedly looking south for lower taxes.
Pratt’s vision for Los Angeles is centered on public safety, with plans to clean up the downtown area and focus on getting treatment and jobs for homeless drug addicts.
“My totem pole is, make sure people don’t have home invasions every single night. Make sure you’re not losing your pole suspension because we haven’t fixed a road. I’m basic, that’s why I’m resonating: common sense, basic stuff,” Pratt told Maher.
He also spoke about his plans to focus on crime and safety issues if he becomes mayor, while delegating other issues to his staff members, as Maher pressed him on the topic of solar energy.
“I need to focus on making sure the moms are safe and the animals are not being abused — that’s my party,” Pratt said. “The solar panels, that’s going to be somebody I’m hiring. That’s my deputy mayor, is going to worry about the solar panels.”
Los Angeles voters will hit the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the city’s mayoral primary race and the state’s gubernatorial primary race. Polls open 7 a.m. PDT and close at 8 p.m.
