Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is being laughed at after she admitted that Republican candidate for mayor Spencer Pratt is tapping into a feeling of frustration among Angelenos and Americans more broadly, but skipped over the fact that the frustration stems from her own leadership.
🚨 BOOM! LA Mayor Karen Bass is getting OBLITERATED after saying, "the people are angry" but won't vote for Spencer Pratt
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 19, 2026
"He's tapping into anger!!"
LAWRENCE JONES: "She CONCEDES people are angry. OK. Who's in charge?! Who do you think they're angry with? They're angry with… pic.twitter.com/CY7DBdUTqH
"I think that he is tapping into a general sense of anger that people have, not just in Los Angeles, but in many other places around our country," Bass said. "In my time, for the first time, we have had a reduction in street homelessness by 17.5 percent, while homelessness has gone up 18 percent. So I want you to know that that resonates with Angelenos very much as well, because homelessness is one of our major, major problems."
"I talk to Palisadians all the time. A lot of Palisadians are not excited about Spencer Pratt and do not feel that he represents their neighborhood very well," she added. "Los Angeles is a very, very big city, and the wildfires had a big impact, that is for sure, but people do recognize that there are other issues."
Observers were surprised that she would acknowledge a general sense of frustration, given that many say there is only one place to lay the blame for that frustration, and that is at the feet of the current city government.
"You know, I really don't get that sound by considering she concedes that the people are angry. Okay, who's in charge?" Fox News' Lawrence Jones said. "Who do you think they're angry with? They're angry with you and all the rest of the representatives. By the way, she's the one that decided, after the fire chief warned her, okay, this is going to happen, not give them the proper funding, that she was going to go out of the country."
"So maybe the people are angry with you. Can you imagine working your whole life, working all kinds of hours that we all do, saving your money, buying a house, and then there's no water in the fire extinguisher, the fire tank in front of your house?" he added. "Can you imagine how mad you would be at the government? And that's how that neighborhood feels, and he's representing them, and he's sticking up for them."
This comes as Pratt has continued to dominate the mayoral race, effectively holding up a mirror to Mayor Bass and progressive city councilwoman, Nithya Raman. The two have been unable to compete with Pratt, as the city is essentially a walking campaign ad for the Republican, and have even skipped debates against him, as they have only continued to make the Democrats look bad.
Despite his success, Pratt is trailing in the race by around 30 percent, although it seems as though he might advance to the general election after the June 2 primary.
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