Self-professed liberal Bill Maher threw some surprise support behind LA candidate Spencer Pratt's mayoral run this week. Maher, 70, repeatedly praised the reality-star-turned-politician's 'drain the swamp' approach to politics on Monday's edition of Club Random.
He agreed that current Mayor Karen Bass and other local leaders did not do enough after last year's wildfires. Maher also praised what he put as Pratt's 'authentic[ity]', after the latter promised to scrutinize and address local unions' current levels of power.
'You had me at hello,' Maher joked. He admitted: 'I mean on so many of these things, and you just have the exact right...I didn't know until I talked to you, honestly, today, but you have the exact right impatience with this s**t. It's very authentic.'
'You know, you're just- it's good,' Maher went on. He advised Pratt, while also acknowledging his rising popularity: 'Just keep doing what you're doing - we'll see where the chips fall.'
A poll last week from Emerson College showed Pratt - a man who came to prominence on MTV's The Hills - gaining ground on Bass despite entering as an underdog in an increasingly heated race. A 2-point jump from March put him in second-place, over progressive local Councilmember Nithya Raman. Polls for a primary vote open Tuesday, with the two top scoring candidates progressing to the mayoral election in November.
Maher reacted: 'I mean, you are on people's minds out here. Nobody can take that away from you. I don't think we saw that coming a year ago,' he said.
The rest of the conversation was similarly cordial. The two men found common ground on their distaste toward California's radically progressive approach to governance. 'You're a guy who knows his priorities, you know, in a general sense. I don't think you're wrong. And again, lots of people agree,' Maher said. 'People do tend to get drunk with power when they have all of it... and that's what has happened with the state of California.'
Movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx are also said to have thrown their weight behind Pratt's underdog campaign. Maher lives in a $20 million mansion in Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, a prestigious part of LA. He describes himself as a classic liberal who regularly takes aim at the woke excesses of the modern-day Democrat party.
The host also praised Pratt as 'a nice guy' and 'charming' during Friday's edition of Real Time. 'I know I'm supposed to hate him. I don't,' Maher said.
Pratt's vision for LA is focused on rooting out purported fraud and corruption he claims has become commonplace because of local leaders. Pratt and his wife, fellow former reality star Heidi Montag, lost their $2.5 million Pacific Palisades home to the wildfires in January 2025. Bass's management was to blame, he has repeatedly claimed.
Bass has faced criticism for her handling of the disaster after cutting fire department resources and attempting to downplay reports that homed in on the city's lack of preparedness. Bass was also in Ghana at a presidential inauguration as the wildfires occurred. She has been mayor since 2022.
