Disney-owned ABC’s Good Morning America seethed Tuesday over Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt on California primary day, trashing him as a “conservative firebrand” who’s run a “provocative campaign” being such “a vocal critic” of Karen Bass for her handling of the wildfires and “draw[ing] criticism for campaign ads” and “blunt statements” about the homeless.
WATCH: ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ trashes @SpencerPratt as a “conservative firebrand” who’s run a “provocative campaign” being such “a vocal critic” of Karen Bass for her handling of the wildfires and “draw[ing] criticism for campaign ads implying he’s since been living in an… pic.twitter.com/BtWYbb9ypt
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 2, 2026
After fill-in co-host and liberal apple polisher Mary Bruce said “all eyes” are “on the insurgent, former reality show star Spencer Pratt,” Los Angeles-based correspondent Trevor Ault showed his political ignorance by claiming “you don’t often see national attention and millions of dollars spent on a mayoral primary, but that is what voters are weighing today in Los Angeles.”
His own network offered repeated stories about, for instance, New York City mayoral races.
Ault then pummeled Pratt:
And of course, a big portion of this attention is from the provocative campaign of reality star Spencer Pratt. This morning, California voters are headed to the polls with the spotlight on a highly competitive primary for Los Angeles mayor, including reality star-turned-conservative firebrand Spencer Pratt, making an unexpected push.
Noting the independent candidate “rose to fame on the early 2000s MTV show, The Hills, Ault said Pratt “has taken aim at incumbent mayor Karen Bass,” who’s “battled lower approval ratings, triggered largely by her response to last year’s devastating wildfires.”
Ault didn’t give much focus to the why of Pratt’s campaign, footnoting “[h]e’s been a vocal critic of the mayor since his Pacific Palisades mansion burnt down in the fires” before turning his ire to the first-time candidate:
[B]ut he’s drawn criticism for campaign ads implying he’s since been living in an airstream trailer, later clarifying he’s actually staying in a luxury hotel. He’s also stirred mixed reactions for his campaign’s frequent use of reposted AI-generated ads and his blunt statements about wanting to clear out the city’s homeless.
The labeling game carried over to the California gubernatorial ballot as he tagged former Biden HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra as merely a “Democrat,” far-left candidate Tom Steyer as just a “billionaire progressive,” and leading Republican candidate Steve Hilton as simply a “conservative commentator.”
The invective is even more maddening considering the fac that this was the first time Pratt’s mayoral bid was mentioned on Good Morning America or its PM counterpart, World News Tonight. Outside of multiple Pratt mentions on The View, the March 5 and May 18 editions of Nightline were the only ABC News shows to give him airtime.
Over on CBS Mornings (which has covered Pratt multiple times), co-host Gayle King leaned into the positive comments President Trump has leveled toward Pratt and extrapolated that to being an endorsement.
Chief correspondent Matt Gutman said it’s “one of the most fiercely fought races in the country” and “anyone’s game” between “incumbent Democratic mayor” Bass, “former reality TV star and Republican” Pratt, and “democratic socialist” Raman.
On Bass being AWOL during the January 2025 wildfires and a lackluster response, Gutman condensed it to “criticism” she’s looking to “overcome.”
“And one of her most ferocious critics has been Pratt, who told our Adam Yabaguchi, it’s what encouraged him to join the race,” Gutman said in talking about Pratt before tagging Raman as someone “leaning into fighting homelessness.”
As for the governor’s race, Gutman brought up “former Biden administration official” Becerra, “environmental advocate” Steyer, and “former Fox News host” Hilton.
“Now, affordability is a huge issue for Californians right now. The latest CBS news poll shows a whopping 70 percent of voters find the cost of living to be unmanageable, and whoever wins will manage a state with a roughly $4 trillion economy, and a lot of work ahead of them,” he concluded, saying nothing about the left’s irongrip on most or all of the state for the last 30 years.
NBC’s Today had Los Angeles-based correspondent Liz Kreutz on the case, correctly explaining Pratt has defined the policy debates of the race: “Spencer Pratt has certainly made a name for himself in this race that’s really been centered on three key issues: frustration over homelessness, the fire recovery, and a large decline in Hollywood production here.”
She described the race as “a contest fit for Hollywood...where reality star Spencer Pratt...with the help of viral AI campaign ads made by his supporters has gained late traction in his long-shot bid” to “to unseat incumbent Democratic mayor Karen Bass, who faced intense criticism for her handling of” the fires.
Here’s how she framed the gubernatorial race as well as primaries in Iowa and New Jersey (click “expand”):
Californians are also choosing the next leader of the nation’s most populous state. Nearly 60 candidates are running to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom. The crowded race becoming even more muddled after former Congressman Eric Swalwell dropped out following sexual assault allegations, which he denies. Democratic politician Xavier Bacerra, currently in the lead with billionaire investor and climate activist Tom Steyer, also a Democrat, and right-wing political commentator Steve Hilton tracking closely behind.
And there are other major races today in six primary states, from Iowa — where Democrats are battling it out, hoping to win a Senate seat in the traditionally Republican state this fall — to an unusual race in New Jersey where GOP Rep. Tom Kean has disappeared from the public eye for months, leaving Republicans worried they may eventually lose his key congressional seat. All setting the stage for midterm elections that could shift the balance of power in Washington. Now, as for that race in New Jersey, Congressman Kean has said he is addressing a personal medical issue and he will return once recovered, but he’s offered no other details. Meanwhile, here in California, there are several notable House races to watch, including in San Francisco, where voters are deciding who will take over Speaker Emeriti Nancy Pelosi’s seat after she retires after nearly 40 years in Congress[.]
To see the relevant transcripts from June 2, click here (for ABC), here (for CBS), and here (for NBC).
