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Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, running in a three-person race for Los Angeles mayor, received rave reviews following his performance during Wednesday night’s NBC affiliate debate.
Pratt is facing incumbent Karen Bass, a former Democratic congresswoman, and socialist Councilwoman Nithya Raman of the Sherman Oaks district in the officially nonpartisan race, where issues of crime, immigration-related conflicts and response to devastating wildfires remain on Angelenos’ minds.
Conservative commentator Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, appeared ecstatic at Pratt’s performance.
“This is not hyperbole,” she said on X. “Spencer Pratt is the blueprint for how my generation of older millennials needs to communicate and present their ideas and campaign messaging when running for office.”
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“He is 10/10 no notes. Absolute raw talent. Killed the debate.”
Other observers, including TownHall columnist Dustin Grage, homed in on a moment in which Pratt gave a one-word answer to a yes-or-no question on noncitizen voting policies, while Bass and Raman offered commentaries that critics called “word salad.”
Pratt told the moderator “no” when asked about Hollywood-area Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez’ proposed ballot motion to allow noncitizens to vote in the city.
“Wow, the moderator asked a simple yes or no question in the LA Mayor’s Debate. Should noncitizens be able to vote in local elections? Spencer Pratt: ‘No.’ Karen Bass: Word salad. Nithya Raman: Word salad,” Grage said.
Other respondents on X shared memes favoring clips of Pratt’s responses to questions, including a much-utilized GIF of Chris Tucker and Ice Cube reeling back and shouting, “Damn.”
In the Los Angeles Times, columnist Gustavo Arellano said Pratt “mostly succeeded” at the debate but came off as a boisterous bro with enough charm to call himself ‘humble’ without coming off as obnoxious.
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“He was light on specifics, other than saying he was going to do better than the others and that he would prioritize public safety above all. Instead, he was the one person on stage who used anecdotes to sell himself, citing conversations about abused animals, downtown workers too afraid to eat outside and film producers hiring local gang members to keep their shoots safe,” Arellano wrote.
In a more favorable review, California Post writer Joel Pollak said Pratt was treated “like the beggar at the feast” by moderators but still became the “strongest personality” on the stage and surprised by creating an image of a “solid, big-city mayor” despite his political amateurism.
“You knew he would talk about Karen Bass’ failure in the fire. But what impressed most was his fluency with other issues, from crime to housing,” Pollak said.
Political commentator Steve Guest called Pratt’s fire-related critique of Bass an “amazing moment.”
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“Spencer Pratt just torched Karen Bass on live TV,” he said.
A similar fire-related moment was a “mic drop,” according to Florida Politics editor Eric L. Daugherty.
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