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Los Angeles mayoral candidate and reality TV star Spencer Pratt opened up about the personal experience that led him to register as a Republican.<\/span><\/p>\n In an interview that aired Wednesday night, CNN anchor Elex Michaelson asked Pratt point-blank, \u201cWhy are you a Republican?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Pratt, best known for his role on MTV\u2019s 2000s-era reality series \u201cThe Hills,\u201d teased the revelation by saying, \u201cYou want to break some news here? This is the first time I\u2019ve ever said this, so this is breaking news. Everyone\u2019s going to freak out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was a hated reality star, I got so many death threats, I had so much security and police, and what did they tell me to do? Get a gun,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cI know people don\u2019t like guns, but L.A. was dangerous if you\u2019re hated, so I got a gun. My wife got a gun, and then we needed [concealed carry permits].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Los Angeles mayoral contender and former reality TV star @spencerpratt<\/a> tells @Elex_Michaelson<\/a> the reason why he became a Republican.<\/p>\n This is part of a special series on the top contenders in the race for #LosAngeles<\/a> #mayor<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mDqglZvE6B<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Pratt said only Republican candidates supported concealed carry rights, a key pillar of the Second Amendment that many Democrats oppose. In 2022, the<\/span> U.S. Supreme Court ruled<\/span><\/a> that the Second Amendment protects an individual\u2019s right to carry a concealed handgun outside the home for self-defense.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat was what I aligned with: my safety, my personal safety, my family\u2019s safety. I know people don\u2019t like guns, but when people are threatening your life and your own security is telling you, you need to have home protection \u2026 that\u2019s it,\u201d Pratt said.<\/span><\/p>\n Pratt, running in deep-blue Los Angeles, acknowledged gun rights represent a \u201chot button\u201d issue, but vowed to use law enforcement to protect sensitive sites.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m also going to be the mayor that puts LAPD in front of every school to make schools safe from guns,\u201d he said, not backing down on his position. \u201cI know people don\u2019t like guns, and we need to make everything, especially schools, safe, but that is where I connect to, and once you feel fear, and it\u2019s real, you want to protect your family.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond the cameras and Hollywood studios, Pratt is criss-crossing the City of Angels, meeting wildfire victims in the Pacific Palisades and<\/span>\u00a0firing up the grill<\/span><\/a> with voters in South L.A.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One voter, frustrated by what she described as Karen Bass\u2019 inaction, pledged her support for Spencer Pratt.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKaren Bass is not doing anything; she\u2019s been bullsh*tting us,\u201d the voter said, detailing her daughter\u2019s painful drug addiction. \u201cMy daughter needs the help. They put her in jail. No treatment, no medicine, and we need more than that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not homeless \u2014 she has a mother \u2014 but she\u2019s downtown right now, walking around, and people probably don\u2019t think she has a mother who loves her,\u201d the emotional woman said as she embraced Spencer Pratt in a hug.<\/span><\/p>\n Pratt is set to face incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass and far-Left Councilwoman Nithya Raman in the June 2 mayoral primary.<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s voting for Spencer Pratt because he\u2019s willing to talk about actual problems facing LA.<\/p>\n The other two just want to hide problems. pic.twitter.com\/sT1D7cINgK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mila Joy (@Milajoy) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n
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