Spencer Pratt, the MAGA-coded reality TV star turned mayoral hopeful, was roasted over his campaign run in his local Los Angeles paper.
In a Saturday article for The Los Angeles Times, journalist Steve Lopez urged Pratt to call him so he could ask whether he truly understands what he is getting himself into by running as a registered Republican to unseat Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“We should talk,” Lopez wrote, directly addressing The Hills alum.
“I know that being a candidate has rescued you from anonymity after your career in reality TV went off a cliff,” Lopez continued, adding, “But at some point you might have to answer questions from the reporters you’ve been avoiding.”
The Pulitzer Prize nominee then proceeded to list the responsibilities Pratt would take on as mayor, including being in City Hall most days of the week and responding to the “more than 30,000 people” who need their sidewalks fixed—a duty Lopez suggested would be difficult to square with Pratt’s pledge to “hire several thousand more police officers.”
Pratt has said in a CNN interview that he decided to run as a Republican after his safety was threatened when he was a “hated reality star,” and because Republicans were more aligned with his pro–Second Amendment views on gun rights.
During the interview, the mayoral hopeful also vowed to put LAPD officers “in front of every school to make schools safe from guns.”
“Like you, I’ve been calling out issues with the management of L.A., and I’ve been doing it for years,” Lopez wrote, noting that unlike Pratt he has not decided to run for mayor.
“Why’s that?” he asked, before answering: “Because unlike you, I know the fixes aren’t as easy as we’d like them to be.”
Pratt, who has said his political role model is Jesus Christ, has launched a Donald Trump–esque campaign to replace Bass, complete with unhinged AI-generated campaign ads and attack lines focusing on the Democrat’s response to the devastating Palisades Fire last year, during which his home was destroyed.
Lopez acknowledged that Bass has done “not great” as mayor and has left herself “wide open to a challenge.”
“I don’t hold it against you that you haven’t worked in government or politics before,” the journalist wrote, taking a dig at Pratt’s résumé and experience, adding: “It might have helped if you’d done something of purpose at some point in your life, like run a successful business or volunteer at a food bank.”
Pratt himself addressed his lack of experience, telling CBS News that while he has no formal experience, he is equipped with “the common sense to say this is not working.”
“In this culture, you could ride that all the way to the White House,” Lopez wrote, referring to President Donald Trump, 79, who was elected without prior political experience.
Los Angeles has not seen a Republican mayor since 2001, but Pratt is hoping that voters frustrated with the city’s homelessness crisis, and those affected by the fires that devastated Los Angeles in 2025, are willing to hear him out.
“When the general election rolls around, and the ice begins to break, will you know how to swim?” Lopez asked the potential L.A. mayor.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Pratt for comment.
