Did Bill Maher Just Win L.A. Mayor’s Race for Spencer Pratt?
Liberal 'Club Random' host lets candidate explain his upstart campaign, plans
Bill Maher settled on a curious recurring joke during his interview with Spencer Pratt.
The future Mark Twain Prize winner told Pratt to stop making the L.A. mayor’s race so darn “personal.”
Sure, your house burned to a crisp thanks in part to government incompetence, but isn’t it time we look past that nagging issue?
Maher’s gag fell flat the first time he tried it, while Pratt took it with surprising grace. The host trotted it out a few more times during their hour-plus conversation.
By the end, it seemed obvious that Maher was on Team Pratt. He just couldn’t say it out loud.
He didn’t have to.
The curious exchange found Maher gently pressing Pratt on several key issues, from the city’s current, dysfunctional state to the future of solar panels in the Golden State.
The latter was a rare swing-and-miss for Pratt, but he quickly recovered to say that renewable energy isn’t atop his “to do” list.
Nor should it be given L.A.’s sizable flaws.
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Maher remains a loyal Democratic voter, but he suggested he may not pull the lever for either Mayor Karen Bass or far-Left candidate Nithya Raman.
How?
“You had me at hello,” Maher told Pratt at the end of their conversation. Yes, Maher is liberal and he adores his adopted city of Los Angeles.
He also knows societal decay when he sees it.
“I didn’t know until I talked to you … but you have the exact right impatience with this s***. It’s very authentic,” Maher said.
It’s one thing for Pratt to drop by Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” The right-leaning candidate did just that a few days ago, a venue that let him share his talking points with little blowback.
Visiting with a man renowned for his liberal politics is something else.
The fact that Pratt either won Maher over or the comedian was sold on Pratt’s campaign long before he entered the podcast studio speaks volumes. At times, Maher played the political advisor, suggesting where Pratt should tone down his pitch and where to double down on it.
He’s clearly rooting for him to shake up the status quo, if not win the whole shebang.
It’s also noteworthy that Maher would “platform” Pratt in the first place. The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” recently savaged Pratt from his ABC pulpit, a blend of partisanship and personal attacks.
Wouldn’t it be easier to invite Pratt onto the ABC show and settle things in person? Kimmel would never do such a thing. His audience would revolt.
More importantly, he might get his clock cleaned by Pratt, rhetorically speaking.
Maher understands having Pratt on the air is more than just a great talk show “get.” It’s a way to save Los Angeles from its disastrous status quo.