Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, whose social media team has been running circles around far-left incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and socialist Councilmember Nithya Raman in recent weeks, appears to be gaining momentum. Whether from his strong performance at last week's mayoral debate or his viral social media ads, the former reality TV star, made famous on MTV's The Hills, has reached an inflection point as a serious challenger to the Democratic queens and kings who rule L.A. City Hall.
Pratt joined David Friedberg on the All-In podcast in an interview that premiered Sunday. Titled "Wildfires, Homelessness, Corruption & the Fight to Take It Back," the conversation outlined how Pratt would quickly work to restore law and order in violence-plagued Los Angeles in the first several weeks of office, if he were elected.
The interview comes days after Pratt defeated Mayor Bass and Councilmember Raman in a debate last Wednesday, in which a local poll by NBC Los Angeles showed that 88% of respondents said he won.
🚨 LA MAYOR POLL: A whopping 88% say that @spencerpratt WON the Mayoral debate last night.
Spencer Pratt: 88%
Karen Bass: 7%
Nithya Rama: 5%
It wasn’t even close. pic.twitter.com/EMUmw9sDDs
Pratt told Friedberg:
"If you start putting handcuffs on people, watch how many people leave. 100%.
"This idea that if you let everyone do drugs and do whatever they want and let the criminals make the outside an asylum with no guards... If you let them do that, they're gonna do that."
Pratt then laid out his plan for the first few weeks if he is elected mayor:
"But when I'm mayor, my plan is: First three weeks, signs up across the city. 'No more nakedness, no more drug use, no more robbing, no more dog abuse.' Very prominently on every sign, in every part of the city.
"And we're going to warn everybody: 'Hey, you've got three more weeks of this. Clock's ticking.' Just keep telling everyone so people are aware. They're like, 'Oh wow, there is a new mayor in town.' They may start leaving.
"And then, when the three weeks are up, or maybe we'll even do two weeks, maybe people want it faster, once we start enforcing the law, boom, the streets will be back.
"You know who I'm also going to bring in? The CDC is concerned because there are medieval diseases in these encampments. They're not swabbing the streets. People are just living in feces, drug use, and dogs burning bodies. We need these streets cleaned."
NEW: Spencer Pratt says he will be implementing a three-week 'grace period' in Los Angeles before he unleashes on criminals.
Pratt says he will also be bringing in the CDC to combat the "medieval diseases" his city has.
"My plan is: First three weeks, signs up across the city.… pic.twitter.com/eKqMMQRtQv
Pratt's rise in the polls is based largely on common-sense policies to enforce law and order, which have alarmed the Democratic Party. Bass had to cancel an appearance this week after her poor performance in last week's debate.
Democrats' only counter to Pratt last week at the debate was to call him a "MAGA Republican." If that is their rebuttal to a basic law-and-order agenda, it speaks volumes about how little they have left to offer voters watching Los Angeles spiral over the last ten years.
Spencer Pratt’s PRICELESS reaction when Nithya Raman dismisses him as a ‘MAGA Republican’ pic.twitter.com/1CEeVTDr4q
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 7, 2026Polymarket odds show Pratt rising after last week's debate, while Raman's odds declined. Bass remains the frontrunner.
//--> Will Spencer Pratt win the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election?Pratt's rise also comes after years of left-wing control over the metro area, which has allowed homelessness, open-air drug use, violent crime, corruption, and social dysfunction to spiral out of control.
Pratt accuses Bass of being a communist and possibly linked to a Cuban spy operation. Rubio also received the memo.
I’m sorry I am now a broken record but oh my God I did not have Spencer Pratt, exposing Karen Bass’s entire communist, revolution history during the race for mayor in Los Angeles.
I mean the best part about this is everything he’s saying is completely 100% true.
So if you… pic.twitter.com/iyoR93WOFh
We laid out to readers late last year:
Democrats are absolutely terrified about Pratt's rise.
Tyler Durden Mon, 05/11/2026 - 20:30In a significant development announced today by the U.S. Department of Justice, Arcadia, California Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged with one count of acting in the United States as an illegal agent of a foreign government - the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Wang, 58, has agreed to plead guilty to the felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. She resigned from her position as mayor and Arcadia City Council member this afternoon following the unsealing of the case.
According to court filings and the DOJ’s Central District of California announcement, Wang and her former fiancé, Yaoning "Mike" Sun, operated the U.S. News Center, a website that presented itself as a news source for the local Chinese-American community. From late 2020 through 2022, they received and executed directives from PRC government officials - primarily via WeChat - to post pro-PRC propaganda. Examples include publishing pre-written articles denying forced labor or genocide in Xinjiang, editing content at the direction of Chinese officials, and sharing view counts and links in coordinated group chats. PRC officials reportedly praised the speed and effectiveness of the posts, with messages such as "So fast, thank you everyone" and "Great!"
Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang has been charged with violating 18 USC 951, acting in the United States as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China.
Wang appeared in federal court this afternoon for her arraignment. She agreed to plead guilty and resign from public office.… pic.twitter.com/toYWJ7htvG
Wang did not register as a foreign agent with the U.S. Attorney General, as required by law, and failed to disclose on the website that certain content originated from or was directed by the PRC government. She was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 (later becoming mayor on a rotating basis) with assistance from Sun, who worked on her campaign.
Linked to Previously Convicted Chinese AgentSun, 65, of Chino Hills, was sentenced in February 2026 to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2025 to the same charge of acting as an illegal agent of the PRC. Prosecutors said Sun monitored the 2023 visit of Taiwan’s president to California, corresponded with Chinese officials, and helped promote PRC interests while supporting Wang’s political rise. A related figure, John Chen - a high-level PRC intelligence operative who had met Xi Jinping - was sentenced in November 2024 to 20 months in prison for acting as an illegal agent and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
DOJ officials framed the case as part of broader efforts to counter Chinese influence operations. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated: "Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy." FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky added that Wang "secretly served the interests of the Chinese government," warning that such actors "will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice."
🚨 Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang in California has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China in the United States.
Mayor Wang admitted to acting as a foreign agent from at least 2020 through 2022 - promoting PRC propaganda in the U.S. and acting…
Wang’s case fits into a documented series of instances where Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence or influence operations have intersected with Democratic elected officials, particularly in California. While no widespread conspiracy has been proven, federal investigators and counterintelligence experts have repeatedly flagged "united front" work by the PRC targeting politicians, diaspora communities, and institutions.
Dianne Feinstein’s Longtime Staffer (2018 revelations): For nearly 20 years, a Chinese national served as Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) personal driver, office gofer, and liaison to the Asian-American community in her San Francisco office. The staffer reported local political information to China’s Ministry of State Security through the San Francisco consulate. The FBI alerted Feinstein around 2013 (while she chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee). She immediately fired the individual, who had no access to classified material according to her office. No criminal charges were filed against him or the senator. The story surfaced publicly in 2018 via the San Francisco Chronicle and Politico.
Rep. Eric Swalwell and Christine "Fang Fang" Fang (2020 reporting): Axios revealed that suspected Chinese MSS operative Christine Fang cultivated relationships with several rising California Democratic politicians, most notably Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Fang raised campaign funds for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection (acting as a bundler), helped place at least one intern in his congressional office, and interacted with him socially over several years. Reports indicated a possible romantic or sexual relationship, though Swalwell has neither confirmed nor denied it in detail.
Fang abruptly left the U.S. in 2015 around the time an FBI counterintelligence investigation into her intensified. Swalwell, who later joined the House Intelligence Committee, cooperated with the FBI, received a defensive briefing, and has stated he cut off all contact upon learning of concerns. No wrongdoing was attributed to him, but the episode drew intense scrutiny given his national security role.
Other historical cases include the 1990s "Chinagate" fundraising scandals involving Democratic National Committee figures and alleged PRC-linked donors during the Clinton administration, though those centered more on illegal campaign contributions than direct agent activity.
Implications and ContextWhile we can't imagine there are any American mayors of Chinese cities - U.S. intelligence agencies have long warned that the CCP employs sophisticated, long-term influence operations to shape narratives, gather political intelligence, and cultivate relationships with American elites - especially in states with large Chinese-American populations such as California. These efforts often involve ostensibly independent media, community organizations, and political operatives who do not register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
Wang’s guilty plea - following Sun’s conviction - represents one of the most direct recent examples of an elected U.S. official admitting to covertly advancing PRC interests while in or seeking public office. Her resignation and the DOJ’s swift action underscore federal prosecutors’ focus on holding accountable those who "act only for the people of the United States," as Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg put it.
Critics argue these cases reveal insufficient vetting of political aides, campaign staff, and even romantic partners in an era of aggressive CCP espionage. Supporters of the implicated politicians emphasize that most relationships began innocently and that no classified information was compromised in the Feinstein or Swalwell matters.
As of this writing, Wang is expected to formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks. The case will likely fuel renewed debate in Washington and Sacramento about foreign influence transparency laws, campaign finance rules, and counterintelligence screening for candidates and staffers.
Tyler Durden Mon, 05/11/2026 - 20:05