“Pod Save America” co-host Jon Lovett mocked the decidedly low-tech setting of a Los Angeles mayoral debate Wednesday night, taking aim at its limited Zoom livestream and recreation-room setting.
“I’m sorry the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association didn’t pay for a zoom account that would have allowed more people to watch the unhinged mayoral debate I just watched,” Lovett wrote on X late on Wednesday. “Second largest city in the country! Home to Hollywood!”
“It was in a rec room and the moderator closed by asking the audience to help put away the chairs!” he added.
The debate between Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman was hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association at the Sherman Oaks East Valley Adult Center. Tickets for the event were sold out, with organizers offering a livestream via Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
Some would-be viewers, however, were unable to access the Zoom stream, prompting complaints online as Bass and Raman faced off in their first debate since advancing to the November runoff.
The candidates sparred over homelessness and public safety, trading attacks over their respective records in city government. Bass accused Raman of struggling to work with her City Council colleagues, while Raman criticized the mayor’s handling of homelessness.
The race comes as Los Angeles faces persistent concerns over housing affordability and homelessness while preparing to host the 2028 Summer Olympics. The winner will oversee the city through the final stretch of those preparations, putting added scrutiny on a contest to lead the nation’s second-largest city.
Lovett, who co-founded Crooked Media and co-hosts “Pod Save America,” seized on the contrast between the modest production and the city the candidates are seeking to lead — the second-largest in the United States and home to Hollywood.
The Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association has played an unusually prominent role in the race. The group also hosted a mayoral debate in May, meaning it has staged two of the city’s three mayoral debates this year, according to L.A. Material.
The post ‘Pod Save America’ Host Jon Lovett Roasts ‘Unhinged,’ Low-Tech LA Mayoral Debate appeared first on TheWrap.
