Trump Signals Unsolicited Support For Spencer Pratt, Nithya Raman Rings MAGA Alarm Bell

India-West News Desk

LOS ANGELES, CA – President Donald Trump thrust himself into the Los Angeles mayoral race this week by praising reality television personality Spencer Pratt on Fox News, prompting an immediate backlash from rival candidate Nithya Raman and intensifying efforts to paint Pratt as Trump’s preferred candidate in heavily Democratic Los Angeles.

“I heard he’s a big MAGA person. He’s doing well,” Trump said during the Fox News appearance, in what opponents quickly seized on as an informal endorsement.

Raman’s campaign responded within hours, accusing Pratt of aligning himself with Trump and warning voters against electing “a mayor who works for Trump and not for you.”

“This has nothing to do with Spencer’s credentials or his track record,” the campaign said in a statement. “The only way to earn Trump’s support is blind fealty to him alone.”

The campaign also accused Trump of using familiar election fraud rhetoric to undermine confidence in the city’s electoral process. According to Raman’s statement, Trump claimed Los Angeles elections are “very dishonest” and that mail in ballots are “rigged.”

“He’s already laying the groundwork to delegitimize our election if his guy doesn’t win,” the statement said. “It’s a textbook MAGA move.”

The clash underscores how national politics has seeped into the Los Angeles mayoral contest, while candidates maneuver around Trump’s polarizing influence.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pratt is registered as a Republican but has worked to minimize his ties to the party and distance himself from Trump as he attempts to build broader appeal in the overwhelmingly liberal city.

Both Raman and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass have repeatedly tried to link Pratt to Trump during the campaign, arguing that his politics are out of step with Los Angeles voters.

Pratt in the past has pushed back by portraying himself as politically independent and focused on quality of life concerns.

“I have the only endorsement I need,” Pratt wrote on X. “Moms and animal lovers who want to feel safe.”

He has also rejected the idea that he represents a partisan political movement.

“I represent all of Los Angeles. I do not represent a party,” Pratt previously said. “

Still, Trump’s remarks are likely to complicate Pratt’s attempts to separate himself from national Republican politics, especially in a city where Trump remains deeply unpopular and where Democratic candidates have frequently used MAGA associations as a political weapon.

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