Can he really do it?
Spencer Pratt is continuing to ride the momentum of his standout performance at the Los Angeles mayoral debate earlier this month with viral campaign ads, media dust-ups, and a possible endorsement from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
On Monday’s show, Megyn was joined by Mark Halperin, host of MK Media’s Next Up, to discuss Pratt’s surprising success and why it could land him in the mayor’s office.
Rumored Endorsement
Over the weekend, veteran gossip columnist and recent Megyn Kelly Show guest Rob Shuter reported on his Naughty But Nice Substack that President Trump is “quietly weighing whether to throw his support behind Spencer Pratt’s unlikely Los Angeles mayoral campaign — even as Pratt insists he is ‘not MAGA.'”
Shuter cited a Republican insider who told him “Trump loves celebrity candidates, and Spencer knows exactly how to dominate headlines,” so “the idea of endorsing him has absolutely been discussed.”
But it is unclear whether Pratt – who is running as a Republican against incumbent Democrat Mayor Karen Bass, progressive City Council member Nithya Raman, and more than a dozen others – would embrace the support. “Spencer is trying to walk a very careful line,” a political source told Shuter. “He wants conservative support without becoming fully tied to national politics.”
The Latest Viral Ad
To that point, Pratt has mostly tried to paint himself as an outsider and “angry Angeleno” focused on local concerns like homelessness, drugs, public safety, and fire preparedness (he lost his home in the devastating January 2025 Palisades fire).
Cleaning up the city and returning it to its former glory has been the theme of the majority of his viral campaign ads, including his latest which was in response to accusations that he has and his family – the former reality star has two children with wife Heidi Montag – have been living at the Hotel Bel-Air.
To capitalize on the drama, Pratt dropped this Fresh Prince of Bel-Air-inspired spot, which has already racked up nearly 2 million views on Instagram. Watch:
Halperin said Pratt’s ads have been “spectacular” and “teach a lot about what effective communication is in politics and in general.”
Can He Win?
Early voting is already underway in the nonpartisan primary set for June 2. If no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November. While Bass leads the race in the most recent polling, she is not at the 50 percent threshold. Pratt, meanwhile, has moved into second place.
Halperin said he believes Pratt has a shot at winning. “I think he’s a good chance to win. I predicted – a little bit tongue-in-cheek – that I think he will win,” he said. “I don’t feel strongly about it, but I think he could.”
Win or lose, however, Halperin said Pratt’s campaign can be a template for Republicans running in Democrat-ruled cities. “The biggest issue is we have let down families and children in big cities around the country for decades now, almost all run by Democrats,” he noted. “The case of the mayor of L.A., Karen Bass, is an extreme one because she also allowed the fires to burn down, but, separate from that, drugs, crime, failing schools, all the things that exist in our big cities, run by Democrats.”
In Halperin’s view, the GOP has historically failed to present a compelling enough alternative. “I say all the time, the only thing bigger failure than the Democratic governance in the cities is the failure of Republicans to win these races by saying, ‘Are you sick of the failure? Let’s try something different,'” he added.
Enter Spencer Pratt. “This guy may not be an orthodox candidate, but, like Donald Trump, I think that’s what’s given him a chance. He is highlighting the failures of governance, and that is what this should be about,” Halperin explained. “Although he has not been very specific about what his solutions are, in most cases, he has been very effective and on point in criticizing and critiquing the failure of governance by Democrats in Los Angeles.”
“So, whether he wins or not, I hope every conservative in the country who lives in a big city or cares about a big city learns from him to not just make cute, effective, funny ads, but to point out the failure and offer something better,” he concluded. “Because, again, our big cities need to be saved.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Halperin by tuning in to episode 1,319 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.