Woke LA mayoral hopeful hurls oh-so-predictable insult at surging rival Spencer Pratt, as top actor brands her 'smug and insufferable'

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:15, 13 May 2026 | Updated: 17:16, 13 May 2026 Woke Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman was mocked for branding her Republican rival Spencer Pratt as a 'fascist' in an oh-so-predictable jibe.  Raman, a city councilwoman who briefly led the race before plummeting in the polls, attempted to downplay Pratt as a 'mini-Trump' as his longshot campaign gains traction.  The far-left lawmaker made the remark in an interview with Brian Tyler Cohen's No Lie podcast, as she tried to acknowledge that voters feel frustrated with politics.  She said voter apathy is a 'very real thing that we should take seriously and that we need to grapple with, and we need to offer it an honest response... a response that is actually rooted in solving these problems.' Raman continued: 'Otherwise, people will turn to fascism, to mini-Trump, which is who I think Spencer Pratt represents.' The remark drew ridicule and comparisons to Democrats repeatedly branding their rivals as 'fascist' in recent years, with many feeling the moniker has lost meaning due to its overuse.  Actor and conservative James Woods branded Raman a 'smug, insufferable, smirking commie', and noted that she was once the frontrunner in the mayoral race before 'dropping overnight.'  Raman's odds of winning the election on June 2 plummeted following a debate with Pratt and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, where she was eviscerated as a 'failure' by the former reality star.  Woke Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Nithya Raman was mocked for branding her Republican rival Spencer Pratt as a 'fascist' in an oh-so-predictable jibe on Brian Tyler Cohen's No Lie podcast Raman attempted to downplay Spencer Pratt (seen with his wife Heidi Montag) as a 'mini-Trump' as his longshot campaign gains traction LA mayor candidate @nithyavraman: “Spencer Pratt is tapping into a lot of the frustrations that people have in Los Angeles about the way that things are going, and his Trumpian qualities is exactly why I think Angelinos should be taking this race seriously.” pic.twitter.com/zk4zr60vxQ Raman's 'fascist' remark was mocked as an un-original attempt at criticizing her conservative rival, as one critic noted: 'This stuff is all they have. Beyond parody.'  Journalist with The Atlantic, Caitlin Flanagan, also laid into Raman's comment as she pointed to her failures as chair of LA's Housing and Homelessness Committee.  Raman's committee poured upwards of $2.2 billion into initiatives to combat homelessness across Los Angeles, despite over 72,000 people remaining homeless in the city - and many returning to the streets after receiving help from her initiatives.  Flanagan pointed to this as she said on X: 'Fascism is taking 2.2 billion dollars from workers to help solve the homelessness crisis and then “losing track” of it.'  Many compared Raman's 'fascist' jibe to other Democrats' attempts to smear Republicans as authoritarian, including Kamala Harris notably calling Donald Trump a fascist during the 2024 election.  Former President Joe Biden and Democrat Bernie Sanders have also joined the list of leftist politicians who use the term for Republicans - leading many to feel the remark has become tedious.  Fox News host Lawrence Jones played a clip of Raman's podcast interview on his show on Wednesday morning, as he said: 'The Democratic Socialist running for mayor in LA ramped up the old 'fascist playbook' on Spencer Pratt, as he exposes their failed agenda.'  'It's unbelievable,' Lawrence added.  The Daily Mail has contacted Raman's campaign for comment.   Actor and conservative James Woods branded Raman a 'smug, insufferable, smirking commie', and noted that she was once the frontrunner in the mayoral race before 'dropping overnight Prediction markets now give Pratt a real chance at toppling incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (left) and city council member Nithya Raman (right)  SOCIALIST CALLS SPENCER FASCISTSocialist LA mayoral candidate Nithya Raman attacked Spencer Pratt, accusing him of representing “fascism” and calling him a “mini Trump.”“People will turn to fascism, to mini Trump, which is who I think Spencer Pratt really represents.” pic.twitter.com/O6Fpy11A0l It comes as Pratt's odds of winning the Los Angeles mayoral race surged in recent days, and prediction market Kalshi gives him a 32 percent chance of victory compared to incumbent Bass's 53 percent.  Just 10 days ago, Raman was in the lead on the market at 53.5 percent, but she has since plummeted to just 14 percent.  The reason for Raman's apparent plunge in popularity among voters was blamed by many on a high-profile debate last week, where Pratt's no-nonsense, brash debate style won plaudits.  Pratt was widely seen as the victor in the debate, with 79 percent of viewers telling NBC that they believed he won the night over Bass and Raman. The former The Hills star has centered his campaign on criticism of Bass's tenure as mayor, and has vowed to combat homelessness and crime across Los Angeles.  As part of his hardline platform against Los Angeles' social issues, Pratt recently unveiled plans to implement a three-week 'grace period' to warn criminals, drug users and homeless people to leave the city before he takes action. Pratt (above, with his two children and wife Heidi Montag) was seen as a long-shot candidate when he launched his campaign in January, but his odds of winning the mayor's office skyrocketed in recent weeks  As part of his platform against Los Angeles' social issues, Pratt recently unveiled plans to implement a three-week 'grace period' to warn criminals, drug users and homeless people to leave the city before he takes action Speaking on the All In podcast to hammer home his message that the city of angels is 'worth saving,' he suggested that his mayoralty will begin with a brief reprieve for those committing crimes and the homeless. 'My plan, the first three weeks, signs up across the city: no more nakedness, no more drug use, no more robbing, no worse, no more dog abuse,' he said. He says that his team will then go around and warn everyone that 'you got three more weeks of this, clock's ticking.' Pratt believes this will show those propagating crime in the city that 'there's a mayor in town' and even make some of the troublemakers leave. 'After that, once we start enforcing the laws: boom! Streets will be back,' he promised. He also suggested that he would bring in the Centers for Disease Control to wade out the 'medieval diseases' living in LA's homeless encampments. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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