The two leading Democratic candidates running for Los Angeles mayor have for months been trying to link their most prominent opponent to President Trump, an unpopular figure in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
Mr. Trump just made it much easier for them.
On Wednesday, the president indicated to reporters that he supported Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality TV star like himself.
“I’d like to see him do well,” the president replied. “I heard he’s a big MAGA person.”
Karen Bass, who was elected mayor in 2022, is fighting to hold onto her seat after a barrage of criticism that she was absent during the catastrophic fires in Los Angeles in January 2025.
Her two leading challengers are Mr. Pratt, whose Pacific Palisades home burned down during the fires, and Nithya Raman, a liberal City Council member. The candidates are competing in a June 2 primary. If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two finishers, regardless of party, will proceed to a runoff in the fall.
Recently, it appeared that the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which is supporting Ms. Bass, was trying to elevate Mr. Pratt by spending $221,000 on an ad aimed at burnishing his profile among Republican voters rather than impugning him. While there are far fewer Republicans than Democrats in the city, if most of them coalesced around Mr. Pratt, he could receive more votes than Ms. Raman.
Political experts said Ms. Bass’s allies were likely trying to ensure that she didn’t have to run against another Democrat in the general election.
Fernando Guerra, a political science professor at Loyola Marymount University, said that Mr. Trump’s words on Wednesday likely would help Ms. Bass immensely.
He said that Mr. Pratt was already popular with Mr. Trump’s supporters, so he didn’t need the endorsement from the president himself. But the endorsement could scare away more moderate voters, whom Mr. Pratt may need in the primary and certainly would need in a general election. Mr. Pratt has downplayed his Republican registration and avoided associations with MAGA in the race for mayor, a nonpartisan seat.
“There’s probably no more anti-MAGA of a place than L.A.,” Mr. Guerra said. “I think Karen Bass would’ve spent half of her campaign treasury getting Trump to do this.”
Ms. Bass posted a link to a Fox News clip of Trump’s comments, saying that only she was up to the job of being mayor.
But Ms. Raman might also be hoping that the president’s praise for Mr. Pratt will hurt his support among independent voters in the city.
She posted a clip of the exchange on X and highlighted the fact that Mr. Trump called Mr. Pratt a “big MAGA person.”
In a statement, Ms. Raman said she wasn’t surprised by Mr. Trump’s endorsement. She said a vote for her was one against Mr. Pratt and Mr. Trump. ”Trump wants a MAGA foothold in one of the most progressive cities in America,” she said.
Mr. Pratt’s team could not be immediately reached for comment.
Mr. Pratt, however, replied Wednesday to Ms. Raman’s X post about Trump’s praise of him with a GIF of himself rolling his eyes.
Madison Malone Kircher and Jill Cowan contributed reporting.
Soumya Karlamangla is a Times reporter who covers California. She is based in the Bay Area.
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