Failed Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt recently criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's Fourth of July speech, labeling the progressive official as "vile" and "commie" on social media.
In a video posted on Saturday, Pratt, who ran for LA mayor in the June primary, expressed his disapproval of Mamdani's address marking America's 250th anniversary. Pratt, wearing a shirt that read "anti socialists social club," claimed Mamdani was lecturing Americans about their own history while sitting at a desk previously owned by President George Washington.
Mamdani's speech, delivered alongside 10 newly naturalized American citizens, focused on an inclusive vision of patriotism and rebuked anti-immigration sentiments and the "love it or leave it" approach to national pride. He stated that patriotism involves acknowledging flaws and motivating calls for the nation to uphold higher moral standards.
Pratt, however, accused Mamdani, a democratic socialist, of espousing communism and attempting to "rewrite history." Pratt asserted that erasing history serves to demoralize and detach people from society, making them susceptible to having their narratives rewritten.
Pratt, a registered Republican, finished third in the nonpartisan LA mayoral primary. He and other conservatives made unsubstantiated claims of election rigging after Council member Nithya Raman secured a spot in the general election against incumbent Karen Bass. The exchange follows a trend of progressive candidates winning primaries, sparking bipartisan debate over the direction of the Democratic Party.