A reality TV villain could run Trump's playbook straight to the LA mayor's office

Revisiting my Spencer Pratt analysis ahead of Tuesday's primary

Early voting has started in Los Angeles. I still think Spencer Pratt could win.

Two weeks ago, I published the piece below with a paywall. In it, I laid out how this former professional tabloid subject (and current professional grievance airer) has tweaked Trump’s reality TV politics to suit the City of Angels.

If it works — we’ll see the first returns on Spencer Pratt’s investment after the primary on Tuesday — the implications are national. It’ll also give us a read on the health of Trumpian campaign strategy outside of the usual deep-red areas. So I’m taking the paywall off to keep you all up to speed.

But first, there are two Prattfalls™️ that have come up since I penned my deep dive, and I think they’re worth sharing.

1: Homeless in Seattle: It’s kinda my job to wonder about the small details of politicians’ policy plans. When you read the section on his policy a couple paragraphs down, you’ll see that I was … let’s say, skeptical … about the technicalities of his plans which included posting signs to tackle one of LA’s hardest to solve issues. We finally got more details one week out from E-Day:

Reporter: “What are your plans for the over 40,000 homeless in Los Angeles?”

Pratt: “Well, they’re not homeless, they’re drug addicts […] These people, when I unplug them and say we’re not taking our tax money anymore, they’re all going to Seattle where the mayor will welcome them.”

One of the most unique pitches I’ve ever heard. And to say it went viral would be the understatement of this race. Just this one single tweet of the clip has almost 50M views. I feel like it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: That’s not a plan. But it might not matter in a city of voters who are activated by this issue.

2: Bittersweet Sympathy: This is something politicians of all stripes / ages / parties / experiences do. And there’s maybe nothing that bothers me more. The whole “do you know how hard this is for me?” schtick. No thank you. In an interview with NBC that has done nuuuumbers among creators on the right, Pratt shared what does come across as honest anguish about running this race, specifically about the security of his family.

That sucks … but that’s also not unique to him. Such is the reality of living in a country wedded to inflammatory politics. Anyone running for office, successful or not, can tell you that incursions into your private life and personal space — often at the expense of your loved ones — come with the job. Just ask James Talarico who’s going through it right now. So, a warning: Voters get the ick right qucik when candidates seem like they’re whining about a job they chose to pursue.

I, personally, cannot wait to see what happens in California as a whole on Tuesday — Tom Steyer would love to chat … if you’re free. Make sure you’re briefed on what’s at stake for our national politics, by reading what you missed! TTYL ✌️

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