Hilton Targets Becerra on Red Tape as Pratt Battles LA Establishment
All-In Podcast
Unchecked Democratic rule and permissive ballot-collection laws have insulated California officials from accountability while driving a working-class exodus through crushing living costs and bureaucratic decay.
Steve Hilton outlines a platform to overhaul California's economy by reducing the administrative code from over 420,000 rules to under 200,000, exempting the first $150,000 of income from state tax, and abolishing the DMV in favor of a flat $73 vehicle registration fee. (4:23)
Hilton highlights that general election polling has steadily narrowed his deficit against Xavier Becerra from 25 points down to 8 points, targeting a crucial 26% bloc of persuadable, working-class voters feeling squeezed by the state's cost of living. (6:37)
Former Los Angeles mayoral challenger Spencer Pratt critiques California's legal voting structure, pointing out that decoupled mail-in ballot envelopes eliminate auditability and that roughly 200,000 registered Republicans failed to cast ballots in LA. (25:01)
A mass tort lawsuit representing roughly 10,000 wildfire victims targets Governor Gavin Newsom, State Parks, the City of Los Angeles, and LADWP over gross negligence, alleging empty municipal reservoirs and smoldering burn sites triggered the Pacific Palisades disaster. (46:30)
Detailed notes
## Background
This episode was published on YouTube by the All-In Podcast on September 23, 2026. The program features guest appearances by California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and Los Angeles political outsider Spencer Pratt, focusing on the impacts of one-party rule, regulatory bloat, the cost of living, ballot harvesting, and municipal mismanagement in Los Angeles.
## TL;DR
Steve Hilton outlines his campaign for governor of California, presenting a plan to slash regulations, abolish the DMV, defund ineffective non-profits, and exempt the first $150,000 of income from state tax to relieve the state's severe cost of living. Media personality Spencer Pratt joins the discussion to recount his unconventional Los Angeles mayoral run, prompted by the destruction of his home and community in the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Pratt and the hosts examine the mechanics of California elections, detailing how aggressive mail-in ballot collection and severed chains of custody legally dismantle late leads. The conversation concludes with Pratt's proposals to replace blighted sections of Skid Row with enterprise AI data centers, alongside warnings about institutional negligence and progressive political organizations.
## Atmosphere & style
The episode carries an urgent, combative, and highly energetic tone that balances sharp political critique with the Besties' trademark Silicon Valley banter. Steve Hilton brings a determined, policy-heavy focus to the stage, which shifts into raw, unfiltered grievance when Spencer Pratt arrives with visceral anger over the loss of his home. Pratt's cynical wit and reality-television sharpness create a dynamic, entertaining friction with the hosts' analytical cross-examinations, delivering a conversation that feels part live campaign rally, part post-mortem legal debrief, and part freewheeling tech podcast.
## Bulletin
- [04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=263s) Steve Hilton outlines a platform to overhaul California's economy by reducing the administrative code from over 420,000 rules to under 200,000, exempting the first $150,000 of income from state tax, and abolishing the DMV in favor of a flat $73 vehicle registration fee.
- [06:37](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=397s) Hilton highlights that general election polling has steadily narrowed his deficit against Xavier Becerra from 25 points down to 8 points, targeting a crucial 26% bloc of persuadable, working-class voters feeling squeezed by the state's cost of living.
- [25:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1501s) Former Los Angeles mayoral challenger Spencer Pratt critiques California's legal voting structure, pointing out that decoupled mail-in ballot envelopes eliminate auditability and that roughly 200,000 registered Republicans failed to cast ballots in LA.
- [46:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2790s) A mass tort lawsuit representing roughly 10,000 wildfire victims targets Governor Gavin Newsom, State Parks, the City of Los Angeles, and LADWP over gross negligence, alleging empty municipal reservoirs and smoldering burn sites triggered the Pacific Palisades disaster.
## Key takeaways
- [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=0s) California's status as the nation's cultural and economic compass makes addressing its structural decline an issue of urgent national priority.
- [02:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=162s) Sixteen consecutive years of one-party rule have led to California ranking at the bottom nationally in poverty, unemployment, and housing affordability.
- [04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=263s) Sacramento's legislative apparatus is dominated by public-sector unions and trial lawyers, producing over 1,100 bills a year and exposing operating businesses to extreme litigation risk.
- [12:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=728s) Hilton's fiscal strategy centers on cutting state spending, canceling high-speed rail, eliminating hidden fuel fees to reach $3 gas, and exempting the first $150,000 of personal income from state taxes.
- [16:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=987s) Silicon Valley acts like an economic resource curse for California, generating windfall tax revenues that insulate Sacramento leadership from the consequences of governing incompetence.
- [21:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1316s) Spencer Pratt emphasizes that his viral mayoral campaign cut through conventional party lines by speaking unfiltered truths directly to frustrated residents.
- [36:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2213s) Mail-in balloting procedures permanently separate voter identification envelopes from cast ballots upon processing, preventing forensic audits or disqualification of improperly collected votes.
- [30:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1819s) Statewide legislation passed in 2018 stripped municipalities of the authority to regulate street vendors, creating unfair, unpermitted competition that damages taxpaying brick-and-mortar storefronts.
- [32:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1941s) Municipal spending priorities are severely distorted, illustrated by spending $500,000 subsidizing street carts while LADWP neglected a $200,000 reservoir cover repair, leaving Pacific Palisades reservoirs bone-dry during wildfires.
- [46:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2790s) Expansive environmental regulations and severe species protection fines actively hinder critical wildfire prevention, such as brush-clearing perimeter firebreaks.
- [49:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2989s) Pratt argues that Los Angeles does not need new policy innovations, but rather civic leadership willing to enforce existing municipal and criminal laws regardless of political optics.
- [51:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3095s) Pratt proposes replacing blighted Skid Row blocks with private AI enterprise data centers conditioned on tech companies funding and repairing city water infrastructure.
- [54:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3280s) The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and their radical platform—such as abolishing police departments—pose the most dangerous long-term governance threat to Los Angeles.
## Detailed walkthrough
### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=0s) Saving California: An Immigrant’s Vision for the Golden State
Introducing Steve Hilton, the hosts highlight the unusual profile of his candidacy: a Republican running for governor of deep-blue California who is also a British immigrant and former Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur. Hilton enters the room with urgent energy, reminding the audience that they have just seven weeks left to save the state. When asked by the hosts to explain California’s broader national significance to those in the audience visiting from outside the state, Hilton frames California not merely as America's largest and wealthiest economic engine, but as an essential cultural compass: "California means to America what America means to the world."
Hilton recounts his own journey, having immigrated to the United States in 2012 and settled as a neighbor to Chamath Palihapitiya. He explains that he was drawn to California because it captured the quintessential rebel spirit, boundless ambition, hustle, and appetite for innovation that defined American exceptionalism. Over the past century, California spearheaded global transformations through the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, cutting-edge technology in Silicon Valley, and world-leading agricultural production in the Central Valley. That historic legacy, Hilton argues, makes preventing the state's terminal decline an urgent national priority.
[02:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=162s) The Reality of 16 Years of One-Party Rule
Assessing the actual state of the state, Hilton concedes that California retains natural endowments that political leadership has not yet managed to destroy—breathtaking geography, ideal weather, world-class research universities, and a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, he contrasts those raw advantages with the structural damage wrought by sixteen straight years of uninterrupted Democratic control. Across standard quality-of-life metrics, California now finds itself at the absolute bottom of the nation, suffering from the highest poverty rate, the highest unemployment rate, and the steepest cost-of-living and housing expenses in the country.
The hosts note the irony of how California’s ruling class shifted from the relaxed, "peace and love" counterculture of earlier decades into an overbearing "rule police" choking everyday life. Hilton agrees, explaining that decades of one-party rule inevitably breed an insular, self-regarding political elite that ceases to serve the general public. Instead, leaders become captured by their own ideological orthodoxies and the entrenched special interests bankrolling Sacramento.
- *Chief Executive Magazine* has ranked California 50th out of 50 states for business climate in its annual survey for more than a decade.
- Relentless regulatory and affordability pressures have triggered an unprecedented outward migration of millions of residents and landmark businesses.
[04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=263s) Sacramento’s Special-Interest Cartel and Regulatory Bloat
Hilton details the mechanics of Sacramento’s legislative machine, calling it one of the most corrupt governance ecosystems in the United States. He explains that power is consolidated by political megadonors, public-sector unions, and trial lawyers who write the rules to protect their own interests at everyone else’s expense. This legal environment has created extreme litigation exposure; Hilton notes that anyone starting or operating a business in California faces an estimated 90% chance of ending up entangled in a lawsuit. Democrats hold total structural power: all eight statewide executive offices, two-thirds supermajorities in both legislative chambers, governance over every major city and county, and a 6–1 Democrat-appointed majority on the California Supreme Court.
To illustrate the sheer scale of government bloat, Hilton points to the 2023 legislative session, where Sacramento lawmakers enacted 1,118 new bills. For an upcoming event at the Capitol, Hilton printed out the text of every bill passed in a single year, resulting in a physical stack of paper standing twice his height. "You think Gavin Newsom is reading all this before signing it? No," Hilton remarks, stressing that these dense statutes exist solely to reward narrow lobbies while suffocating the broader economy. To confront this accumulation, Hilton announces a central platform pillar: slashing California's administrative code from over 420,000 individual regulations down to under 200,000 by the end of his first term to bring the state into line with national averages.
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: California Legislative and Special Interest Cycle
accDescr: Flowchart illustrating how Sacramento's one-party rule and special interest donors lead to excessive regulations, high litigation, and business exodus.
subgraph SpecialInterests[" Sacramento Power Machine "]
A["Unions & Trial Lawyer Donors"] --> B["16 Years of One-Party Rule<br/>(Supermajorities & Executive)"]
end
subgraph Outputs[" Legislative Bloat "]
B --> C["1,118 Bills Passed / Year"]
C --> D["420,000+ Administrative Rules"]
end
subgraph Consequences[" Economic Impact "]
D --> E["90% Business Litigation Risk"]
D --> F["50th in Business Climate"]
E --> G["Exodus of Businesses & Residents"]
F --> G
end
```
[06:37](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=397s) People vs. The Machine: Can Sacramento Be Won?
The conversation turns to the feasibility of overcoming California's political establishment. The hosts question whether the Sacramento apparatus is effectively impenetrable, arguing that between union ballot-harvesting operations, campaign war chests, and institutional control, the political machinery effectively appoints winners rather than allowing authentic democratic competition. Hilton acknowledges the depth of the machine's institutional control, noting that his campaign has explicitly framed the election as "the people versus the machine." However, he rejects the defeatist conclusion that the system cannot be beaten from the outside.
Hilton counters institutional cynicism by pointing to shifting polling trends that show a broad desire for change across party lines. On primary election night, the combined Democratic vote stood at 65%, while Hilton (25%) and a second Republican (10%) totaled 35%—a daunting 30-point deficit. The initial general election poll placed the gap at 25 points, but subsequent public polling steadily narrowed the margin to 18 points, 14 points, and most recently 8 points. Hilton insists that resigning oneself to either tolerating bad governance or fleeing the state is an "un-American attitude." If reformers mobilize the frustrated majority, he argues, the entrenched machine can be defeated at the ballot box.
[08:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=536s) The Partisan Identity Trap and California's Economic Abyss
The hosts press Hilton on the psychological hurdles facing California voters who recognize the state's decline but still hesitate to vote Republican out of social conditioning, habit, or partisan guilt. They ask whether California must experience an outright fiscal collapse or "rock bottom" reset before the electorate finally breaks free of reflexively checking the Democratic box. Hilton responds that for millions of working families, the state has already reached rock bottom in everyday life.
Having campaigned across all 58 counties and held hundreds of open town halls, Hilton shares that he routinely encounters working-class citizens whose lives are strained to the breaking point. The California Dream of homeownership—once the foundation of the state's middle-class prosperity—has been dismantled by artificial supply constraints and government-driven costs.
- California previously led the country in housing affordability and middle-class homeownership rates.
- The median home price in California has surged to nearly $1,000,000.
- The median annual income for an individual California worker remains approximately $65,000, creating an insurmountable wealth barrier for ordinary families.
[10:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=622s) A Now-or-Never Election: Frustrated Lifelong Democrats and Business Flight
Everywhere Steve Hilton travels across California—at airports, on the streets, or at campaign events—voters approach him with an unmistakable intensity. Instead of offering routine well wishes like "good luck" or "hope you do well," the message is almost word for word: "You have to win." Hilton notes that even backstage before the live recording, people echoed that exact sentiment. While Californians have long maintained a habit of voting for Democrats despite increasingly disappointing outcomes, Hilton believes that dynamic is finally fracturing.
Hilton illustrates this shift with an anecdote from a 9/11 memorial service he attended in Sacramento. Sitting quietly in the back just to pay his respects without participating in the program, four or five attendees came up randomly to take pictures. Each delivered the same message: "I'm a lifelong Democrat, but I'm voting for you this year." At the same time, business leaders and owners warn him daily that if his campaign fails in November, they are pulling out of California entirely. In Hilton’s view, the steady outflow of businesses over the past couple of years will quickly become a "stampede for the exits" without political balance, making this a "now or never election for California."
[12:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=728s) The Path to Victory: The Persuadable Working Class and Cost-of-Living Relief
Jason Calacanis presses Hilton on the mathematical reality of his race against Xavier Becerra. Prediction markets like Polymarket peg Hilton’s chances of winning at just 5%, while traditional polls show him trailing by 8 to 20 points. With Hilton commanding roughly 89% to 90% of Republican voters, only 30% of independents, and under 10% of registered Democrats, Jason asks what concrete plan Hilton has to break through during their sole debate on September 30.
Hilton counters with baseline polling conducted at the campaign's launch: 33% of voters are solidly behind him, 41% are solidly with Becerra, and 26% are up for grabs. That pivotal 26% consists largely of non-college-educated, working-class Californians who may have voted Democrat in the past but are currently at a financial breaking point and open to persuasion. Because their primary concern is the crushing cost of living, Hilton's entire campaign platform is engineered around immediate pocketbook relief:
- **State Spending and Budget Bloat:** The state budget has doubled over the past decade even as California lost two million residents. Hilton proposes a 10% headcount reduction in state government, a 5% operational efficiency cut, canceling the high-speed rail project, and cutting off funding for non-profits that exacerbate homelessness.
- **Middle-Class Tax Relief:** The savings from administrative cuts would fund an income tax exemption making the first $150,000 of income entirely free of California state income tax.
- **Lowering Gas Prices toward $3:** Hilton calls for tapping domestic California energy resources instead of shipping oil from overseas—a practice that increases global carbon emissions while posturing as climate policy. He also plans to repeal the hidden taxes that make gas roughly $6 a gallon.
- **Hidden Fuel Fees:** Clarifying that he does not intend to eliminate clean-fuel standards, Hilton highlights that mechanisms like the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the "cap-and-invest" program tack an extra $1.50 onto every gallon of gas, funneling revenue directly into the high-speed rail project.
- **Abolishing the DMV:** To curb exorbitant vehicle registration fees that routinely hit $800, $900, or over $1,000, Hilton plans to abolish the DMV and cap registration at a flat annual rate of $73 per vehicle.
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: Fiscal Reforms to Cost-of-Living Relief
accDescr: Diagram tracing budget cuts and regulatory rollbacks to direct pocketbook savings for working-class California voters.
subgraph Savings["Working-Class Relief"]
TaxExempt["First $150,000 Free of State Income Tax"]
FlatReg["Flat $73 Annual Vehicle Registration"]
GasPrice["Target $3/Gal Gas via In-State Energy"]
end
[16:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=987s) The Critique of Xavier Becerra: Democratic Insiders and the Silicon Valley "Resource Curse"
When asked why voters should reject Xavier Becerra, Hilton points to evaluations from Becerra's own Democratic colleagues rather than partisan attacks. Despite boasting a 36-year career in politics, Becerra's tenure running large departments drew sharp rebukes from inside the Biden-Harris administration. Hilton cites Susan Rice—former Obama National Security Advisor and Biden Domestic Policy Council director—who worked with Becerra for four years and reportedly referred to him as an "idiot" and an "ass." Another Biden cabinet colleague remarked that "running a large executive agency is not exactly his skill set." Hilton warns that Becerra would simply be a compliant puppet for public-sector unions and trial lawyers, worsening conditions even beyond Gavin Newsom's tenure.
```
"If you don't think it can get worse after Gavin Newsom, I have two words for you: Javier Becerra."
— Steve Hilton
```
David Sacks and Jason Calacanis weigh in on why the Republican establishment historically underfunded California races, with Sacks noting that the party lacked a credible candidate until Hilton stepped up. Sacks insists the race must avoid national partisan battles and stay laser-focused on state-specific failures:
- **Independent Appeal:** Sacks emphasizes that bringing national party politics into California repels crucial independent voters who care about tangible state mismanagement.
- **Silicon Valley's "Resource Curse":** Citing an insight from Peter Thiel, Sacks explains that Silicon Valley functions like an oil-rich petrostate's resource curse: the tech sector generates such massive tax revenues and capital windfalls that Sacramento has never been forced to run a competent government.
- **Becerra's Primary Defense:** Hilton reinforces this dynamic by recalling Becerra's pre-primary appearance on CNN. When pressed on the state's leading poverty, homelessness, and unemployment rates, Becerra merely pointed out that California is the "fourth biggest economy in the world" and noted that tourists still flock to Disneyland and the beaches.
- **Artificial GDP Numbers:** Hilton argues that relying on the "fourth biggest economy" talking point is deeply misleading, as state GDP calculations are inflated both by tech capital gains and a state government payroll that has doubled over the past ten years without producing broad-based private sector job growth.
[20:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1216s) California's Economy and Introducing Spencer Pratt
The discussion opens with an indictment of California's economic underbelly. While the state presents an exterior of wealth driven almost entirely by the tech sector, private-sector job creation since the pandemic has hovered around zero. The panelists warn that if Proposition 40 passes, even that sole economic pillar could crumble, making it a critical wake-up call for voters across the state.
At that moment, Brad Friedberg introduces a surprise guest to the stage alongside Steve Hilton: Spencer Pratt, who recently concluded a high-profile, unorthodox campaign in Los Angeles. A clip rolls introducing Spencer, where he passionately pushes back against the narrative that he turned politics into reality TV: "No, no, my dear, you made my life a show when you burned my town down." Spencer, known as a media entrepreneur and reality television personality, frames his bid not as a polished career ambition, but as a furious "Hail Mary" against Mayor Karen Bass and local leadership after losing his home, his parents' home, and his entire community to devastating wildfires.
[21:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1316s) The LA Machine vs. The Grassroots Viral Campaign
Spencer steps onto the stage to enthusiastic applause and immediately pushes back on the standard political vocabulary. While Steve and the hosts refer to the entrenched political system in California as a "machine," Spencer rejects the softening term: "I like to call it a corrupt criminal mafia cartel. Machine is when you're a candidate, you have to call it a machine. These are criminals." He argues that officials launder tax dollars through bloated social programs under the guise of compassion while people actively die on city sidewalks.
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: Spencer Pratt Campaign Dynamic
accDescr: Diagram illustrating how grassroots viral messaging overcame lack of political machinery in Spencer Pratt's campaign.
subgraph S1["Grassroots Engine"]
A["Personal Tragedy<br/>(Lost Home to Fires)"] --> B["Unfiltered Truth on Video"]
B --> C["Nationwide Creative Input<br/>& AI-Assisted Earned Media"]
end
subgraph S2["Voter Coalitions"]
C --> D["Cross-Party Appeal<br/>(Registered Democrats)"]
E["200,000 Uncast<br/>Republican Ballots"] -.->|Missed Turnout| F["Eventual Ballot<br/>Deficit"]
end
subgraph S3["The Machine"]
F --> G["Late-Arriving Mail-In Ballots"]
G --> H["Incumbent Establishment Prevails"]
end
```
The Besties press Spencer on the sheer mechanics of his viral campaign, highlighting the clever, AI-assisted video content that dominated social media and generated massive earned media for an independent outsider. Spencer demurs on giving all the credit to AI, explaining that the visuals were merely an amplifier for raw, undeniable truth:
- **The Core Fuel:** Spencer simply stepped onto digital platforms and told the unvarnished truth about the city's failures, which catalyzed an organic grassroots machine of creative contributors nationwide who pitched in ideas, editing, and tech support.
- **Shared Playbook:** Steve Hilton reveals that his gubernatorial push employs the exact same creative media team as Spencer's operation.
- **Bipartisan Coalition:** Spencer emphasizes that the overwhelming majority of his voters were actually Democrats fed up with city conditions.
- **The Turnout Deficit:** Spencer contends he would have cleanly defeated Nithya Raman and the establishment candidates if even a fraction of the 200,000 registered Republicans in Los Angeles had actually cast their ballots instead of succumbing to voter fatigue and apathy.
[25:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1501s) The Late Ballot Surge and Mail-in Voting Mechanics
Spencer breaks down what he experienced on election night and the days that followed. On election night, he was celebrating at Don Antonio's while his progressive Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) opponent, Nithya Raman, appeared dejected on camera, trailing by 10%. Over the ensuing days, however, the vote tally took a mathematically improbable turn as tranches of late-arriving mail-in ballots steadily chipped away at the lead.
Spencer points out the absurdity of the late margin: Raman managed to vacuum up roughly 43,000 mail-in votes down the stretch. He draws a biting comparison to the roughly 43,000 to 100,000 homeless individuals and drug addicts living on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. When the hosts push back on whether he is formally alleging outright fraud, Spencer clarifies his stance on the institutional design:
- The system is built so that things that feel fraudulent are, by the letter of the law, completely legal.
- Under California's mail-in balloting rules, a witness can sign a ballot with an "X" or a smiley face without strict signature verification.
- A single third-party collector or witness can legally handle and turn in thousands of ballots without adequate safeguards or verification checks.
[26:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1617s) The Broken City: MacArthur Park and the Street Vendor Crisis
Steve Hilton steps in to ground Spencer’s frustration in the day-to-day realities playing out across Los Angeles. Steve recounts a visit he made the previous Tuesday at 10:30 AM to Langer's Delicatessen near MacArthur Park—an iconic, nearly 80-year-old LA staple whose owner, Norm Langer, nearly closed shop due to the spiraling chaos outside. Even with a tougher District Attorney and federal law enforcement like US Attorney Martin Estrada targeting cartels, MacArthur Park remains an open-air drug den.
Steve describes walking into the park mid-morning on a bright Tuesday to find dozens of individuals bent over on fentanyl and smoking crack in broad daylight. The underlying driver, Steve argues, is that taxpayers are footing the bill: four different city-funded nonprofit organizations operate daily in the park handing out clean needles, crack pipes, and drug paraphernalia under harm reduction mandates—with law enforcement having previously busted NGO workers for illegally peddling fentanyl on the side.
To highlight the crushing asymmetry between law-abiding citizens and the city's street realities, Steve shares another visit to a 14-year-old family-run Latino shoe business in South Central Los Angeles:
- **The Burden on Legitimate Business:** The store owners walked Steve through an endless gauntlet of rising tax rates, electric utility bills, and increasingly expensive, convoluted municipal permits needed just to keep their doors open.
- **The Unregulated Sidewalks:** The owners then led Steve outside down two full city blocks. The entirety of the sidewalk in front of their brick-and-mortar storefront was jammed with unpermitted, unregulated street vendors selling competing goods without paying taxes, rent, or permit fees, effectively destroying the compliant business owners who follow every single rule.
[30:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1819s) The Destruction of Small Businesses and Statewide Street Vending Laws
Steve Hilton outlines the grim reality facing compliant small business owners across Los Angeles, recounting a visit to a spotless, 14-year-old family-owned retail shop selling shoes, apparel, and T-shirts. The business is on the brink of closure because unlicensed street vendors have taken over the sidewalk directly outside its doors—paying no rent, paying no taxes, using no metered electricity, and bypassing health and safety licensing. When Hilton asked the owner when the chaos began, the owner explained it was not caused by the pandemic, but began roughly six to seven years prior. In 2018, the California state legislature passed legislation legalizing street vending across the entire state, stripping local cities and counties of their power to regulate or restrict sidewalk commerce.
The physical consequences are visible directly outside legacy establishments like Langer's Delicatessen, where illegal food vendors dump hot cooking grease straight into the storm drains, attracting vermin and creating severe health hazards. Hilton argues that this dynamic captures the core perversion of California policy: "We've become a state where if you do the right thing, you're punished, and if you do the wrong thing, you're rewarded." The hosts agree that highlighting these hyper-specific, absurd legislative outcomes is the only way to puncture entrenched political orthodoxy, noting that hearing these regulatory failures laid bare sounds functionally insane regardless of one's political party.
[32:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1941s) Municipal Priorities: Food Carts, Dry Reservoirs, and the Boyle Heights Warehouse Fire
Spencer Pratt contrasts the city's lavish spending on non-compliant vendors with its neglect of basic taxpayer infrastructure. Los Angeles boasts an estimated 50,000 street food vendors, most of whom decline to purchase even the subsidized $21 operating permits. Despite this, the Los Angeles City Council approved $500,000 in taxpayer funds to manufacture and distribute commercial-grade carts to street vendors. Pratt contrasts this with the Pacific Palisades wildfire disaster: the Palisades burned because Mayor Karen Bass and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) neglected to spend $200,000 to replace a damaged reservoir cover, leaving the local water storage dry while one of the city's highest property-tax-generating neighborhoods burned.
When asked about the political reality of beating an incumbent like Karen Bass, Pratt bitterly describes the race as a choice between "Dumb and Dumber," pointing to progressive challenger Nithya Raman and joking that at least with Bass, "she only burns down one town every four years." Hilton underscores that the incompetence is far from a joke, noting his own general election campaign launched in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles. That site was chosen because a massive commercial warehouse fire burned uncontrolled for a full week while Bass was out of the country. The fire left 85 million pounds of rotting meat abandoned on site for five weeks in a working-class Latino community, filling the neighborhood with flies, stench, rats, and medieval sanitary hazards.
- An estimated 50,000 street food vendors operate in Los Angeles, largely bypassing nominal $21 operating permits.
- The LA City Council allocated $500,000 to subsidize mobile food carts for sidewalk operators.
- The LADWP failed to fund a $200,000 reservoir cover repair, leaving Pacific Palisades storage reservoirs dry ahead of catastrophic fires.
- The Boyle Heights warehouse fire burned for a week while municipal leadership was absent, leaving 85 million pounds of meat rotting for over a month.
[34:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2085s) Campaign Advice and Steve Hilton's '10 New Cities' Vision
Asked for advice for Hilton’s gubernatorial bid, Spencer Pratt insists Hilton doesn't need tactical coaching, but must continue running on an aggressive common-sense platform. Pratt points out that registered Republicans cannot win California simply on party labels, but Hilton's message cuts through by focusing on nonpartisan grievances: ending rampant tax theft, clearing crime and open drug scenes from neighborhood parks, and fixing broken public services. Pratt mocks Xavier Becerra’s pitch of running purely to "resist" Washington, noting the White House administration changes in two years while California residents remain stuck with entrenched decay.
Before departing, Hilton shares his optimistic blueprint for turning the state around, announcing the official release of his policy platform, "10 New Cities for California." Hilton argues that California's crisis is entirely self-inflicted by catastrophic regulations, litigation mills, and runaway fees. If the state removes bureaucratic barriers, its underlying assets—world-class talent, abundant venture capital, and creative energy—can replicate the post-war growth eras that built modern California.
[36:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2213s) Ballot Harvesting, Mail-in Ballots, and the Envelope Separation Problem
Following Hilton’s exit, the conversation shifts to Spencer Pratt's political career and viral campaign moments, particularly his viral video centered on the realization that California's public funds are "just being stolen." Pratt admits that running for office served as pure therapy to channel his visceral anger against local mismanagement. Turning to the upcoming election, Pratt expresses cynicism about traditional voting mechanisms against entrenched political machines. When the hosts push back against insinuations of outright fraud, Pratt clarifies that the machinery is entirely legal: sophisticated operations simply run aggressive, state-sanctioned ballot harvesting campaigns.
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: Mail-in Ballot Separation Process
accDescr: Flowchart showing how mail-in ballots lose their chain of custody when separated from envelopes.
subgraph Processing["Separation Point"]
B --> C["Signature Verification on Outer Envelope"]
C --> D["Envelope Physically Severed from Ballot"]
end
subgraph Counting["Tabulation & Audit Obstacle"]
D --> E["Anonymized Paper Ballot"]
D --> F["Discarded / Archived Envelope"]
E --> G["Official Vote Tally"]
G -.->|Broken Chain of Custody| H["Impossible to Audit or Disqualify Suspect Ballots"]
end
```
Pratt explains the fundamental legal dead end candidates face when challenging mail-in ballot spikes. After consulting election law firms, he learned that the moment mail-in ballots arrive at central counting facilities, workers separate the paper ballot from the outer mailing envelope carrying the voter's certification signature. Once the envelope is severed, the legal chain of custody is permanently broken. Even if an investigator can prove that a partisan NGO harvested illicit ballots from non-citizens or incapacitated voters, there is zero forensic mechanism to identify and remove those specific physical ballots from the anonymous vote tally.
- California election procedures permanently decouple mail-in ballots from signature-bearing return envelopes during initial intake.
- Once envelopes are removed, challenges based on fraudulent collection or improper signatures cannot be tied to individual cast ballots.
- Pratt argues that victory in California elections requires matching the institutional left's legal ballot harvesting operations rather than relying purely on standard voter turnout.
[40:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2421s) The Debate Over Ballot Harvesting and Election Integrity
The discussion heats up over the mechanics of California's election system and how votes are collected. While Spencer Pratt makes it clear that he is not alleging outright fraudulent "fake ballots" in a legal sense, he contends that the system itself is structurally skewed. Because state law permits expansive ballot collection, candidates can find themselves leading significantly on election night only to be narrowly overtaken days later once harvested vote-by-mail ballots are fully tallied.
```mermaid
flowchart TD
accTitle: California Campaign Ground Game Comparison
accDescr: Contrasting Spencer Pratt's campaign outreach with the aggressive field operation of Democratic Socialists of America activists.
subgraph Pratt["Standard Campaign Outreach"]
P1["Paid field workers (~$500K spent)"] --> P2["Knock on voter door"]
P2 --> P3["Voter declines to participate"]
P3 --> P4["Canvasser moves on immediately"]
end
subgraph DSA["Aggressive Ballot Harvesting Operation"]
D1["Mobilized field army / true believers"] --> D2["Direct apartment canvassing"]
D2 --> D3["Persistent follow-ups (up to 3 times)"]
D3 --> D4["Collect & deliver marked ballots legally"]
end
```
Jason Calacanis pushes hard on Pratt's rhetoric, noting that Donald Trump filed roughly 60 lawsuits alleging election fraud and lost every single one. When Calacanis directly asks Spencer whether he lost the election because of fraud, Spencer responds: "Without evidence I would say no... If I had the evidence I would tell you I would be the mayor right now." However, Calacanis counters that Spencer had previously tweeted that fraudsters stole the election from him. Spencer defends himself by clarifying that there are multiple reasons for a loss, notably that approximately 200,000 registered Republicans failed to turn out and vote in Los Angeles.
The core tension centers on the line between aggressive get-out-the-vote efforts and undue pressure. Spencer draws a sharp contrast between polling place rules and mail-in ballot collection. At an official voting center, wearing a campaign hat or advocating for a candidate inside the perimeter constitutes illegal electioneering. Yet, under California's ballot harvesting statutes, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) organizers can legally canvass apartment buildings, lobby tenants directly at their doors with policy promises, collect their completed ballots, and drop them off in bulk.
David Friedberg and Jason question whether this is simply effective retail politics and persistence, but Spencer argues that repeatedly returning to a resident's home borders on harassment until the voter relents just to get rid of the canvasser. Furthermore, Spencer points out that California's unpurged voter rolls leave hundreds of thousands of unverified ballots floating in circulation—sent to outdated addresses or even commercial parcels such as an empty downtown LA parking lot registered as a residential address. Without mandatory voter ID laws or clean voter registries, Spencer insists, the election infrastructure remains vulnerable to mass ballot sweeps.
- Spencer points out the paradox where asking for ID at a California polling place is prohibited, while showing identification is routinely required for everyday activities like boarding an airplane.
- Paid ballot collection is legally permitted under California law, provided canvassers are not compensated on a per-ballot commission basis.
- Spencer spent roughly $500,000 on his campaign ground game, but notes his staff adhered to traditional, non-aggressive voter outreach rather than multi-visit ballot retrieval.
---
[46:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2790s) Wildfire Negligence, Bureaucracy, and the Palisades Lawsuit
Pivoting from politics to personal recovery, the Besties jokingly propose inviting Spencer on as the "fifth bestie"—noting he has the Zoom access, free time, and an appreciation for premium tequila to fit right in, playfully nudging Brad Gerstner to "sixth bestie." Spencer explains that his sole motivation for running for mayor was to amplify his fight against the municipal and state leadership whose administrative failures culminated in the destruction of his community, his home, and his parents' house in the Pacific Palisades.
Spencer describes the dire aftermath in the Pacific Palisades, where basic public safety infrastructure remains completely neglected. The municipal water reservoir that sat empty during the fire remains dry, as does an additional local reservoir across from his home. Instead of functional water storage, the city hooked up a single temporary hose running through overgrown chaparral from Topanga Canyon to supply the Palisades with municipal water. Because property insurance companies accurately assessed the hazard posed by unmanaged vegetation, thousands of homeowners were dropped from their coverage policies.
Spencer reveals that environmental overregulation actively prevents basic fire mitigation. Clearing chaparral or dead brush behind private property lines can trigger massive civil fines due to protected species like the Braunton's milkvetch. He cites a past incident where the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) was fined $1,000,000 merely for clearing brush surrounding a downed utility pole in a state park. An expert brush-clearing contractor informed Spencer that a comprehensive 300-yard perimeter firebreak around the Palisades would have cost under $500,000, which could have prevented billions of dollars in catastrophic damage.
Rebuilding remains impossible until an expansive mass tort lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom, California State Parks, the City of Los Angeles, and LADWP is resolved. The lawsuit represents roughly 10,000 wildfire victims, alleging gross state negligence. According to Spencer, an initial eight-acre brush fire ignited in the Pacific Palisades on New Year's Eve and was allegedly extinguished. However, State Parks personnel failed to continuously monitor the burn area as mandated by their official operational manual. Firefighter whistleblowers later revealed that hot coals were left smoldering in the soil, which reignited into an inferno when a forecasted windstorm swept through the area on January 6 and 7.
[49:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2989s) Holding the City Accountable: The Palisades Fire Lawsuit and Running for Mayor
The discussion begins with the legal fallout from the Pacific Palisades brush fires, where depositions have uncovered stunning evidence of institutional negligence across multiple agencies. State park personnel took photos of the hillside actively smoking long before it erupted into an inferno. When deposed and asked why they did not intervene, employees bluntly replied, "Oh, we're not firefighters." The mounting evidence establishes that California State Parks permitted a blatantly hazardous condition to threaten and ultimately consume the community, while the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) left local reservoirs bone-dry with no water available to fight the flames, and the city itself failed to act. The ultimate aim of the litigation is to set the public record straight, expose systemic municipal incompetence, and win restitution for displaced families so residents understand that city governance does not have to function this way.
Spencer Pratt explains that exposing this dysfunction was what initially pushed him to start creating street-level videos. When he realized that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was essentially going to sail through to reelection uncontested, he reached out to developer Rick Caruso: "Are you going to run or what?" When Caruso declined, Pratt decided to enter the mayoral race himself to stop Bass. Responding to critics who dismissed him for having no political background, Pratt counters that the actual requirement for running Los Angeles is simply enforcing existing laws—something current leadership refuses to do because of political optics:
> "What LA needs is a mayor that enforces the law. Neither Mayor Bass nor Nithya Raman have any intention on enforcing the laws because it doesn't look good. It doesn't look good if you tell the illegal food vendors that they can't ruin a small business that's been paying taxes for 40 years. 'Oh, you're messing with this community, this at-risk community.' No, this is illegal. They're destroying this family's business."
Pratt laments that it will likely take four years of unchecked destruction before desperate Angelenos recognize the failure and demand real leadership, but insists that when that call comes, he will be ready.
[51:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3095s) The Content Mission, Skid Row Data Centers, and Reality TV vs. Politics
When asked about his current day-to-day focus, Pratt details how witnessing municipal deceit firsthand transformed his media platform. He refuses the partisan label of being a standard "Republican," emphasizing that "the truth doesn't have a side." Having documented the decline of Los Angeles up close, he feels a broader duty to prevent other major metropolitan hubs from deteriorating along the same trajectory, which has led him to travel to New York to collaborate with people trying to save their city: "It's not for LA now. And I'm like, damn, I got to fight for America. Like, I'm like Jason Bourne."
Beyond media, Pratt reveals the aggressive, unconventional municipal playbook he developed during his mayoral run. He planned to make Los Angeles a premier AI capital by replacing Skid Row with enterprise data centers. Consulting with data center operators, he recognized that an AI boom offers the ideal mechanism to fix collapsing public infrastructure without bankrupting taxpayers. The city could offer 50 blocks of blighted, drug-ridden terrain to private tech giants willing to invest billions of dollars, tied to contractual mandates: "Hey, yes, you can put this data center where we have naked drug addict zombies and no actual human being can go for 50 blocks... But you need to redo our water pipes." The Besties embrace the concept with tongue-in-cheek Silicon Valley humor, joking that Meta probably has a training program to convert fentanyl addicts into certified data center electricians.
When the hosts rib Pratt that his quick-witted, on-camera presence would make him a natural star for reality TV, he pushes back sharply. The reality genre has been completely ruined by constant image crafting, social media anxiety, and calculated persona maintenance. Recalling the reboot of *The Hills*, Pratt notes that nobody on camera was willing to be authentic because everyone worried about blog reactions and the comment section. Modern politicians, he argues, suffer from the exact same affliction, behaving less like public servants and more like second-rate TikTok influencers: "If you watch any politician, they're just a bad TikTok influencer... he thinks he's Alix Earle."
[54:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3280s) The Greater Threat: Taking on the DSA and Preparing for the Future
The conversation turns to the future of Los Angeles and Pratt's long-term political trajectory. The hosts point out that had Pratt won, his administration would have been the most entertaining mayorship in American history, but emphasize that his political window remains wide open. Pratt agrees, asserting that he is actually far more dangerous to the entrenched establishment as an independent outside operator over the next few years than he would have been as an immediate candidate, because he now has the time and platform to systematically expose them in their communities.
While the hosts suggest Pratt should spend the next two years relentlessly holding Mayor Karen Bass accountable, Pratt warns that Bass is far from the city's worst problem. The real threat to the future of Los Angeles stems from radical groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and affiliated council members like Nithya Raman:
- **The Mainstream Blind Spot:** Moderate Democrat friends consistently fail to grasp what the DSA actually stands for, assuming critiques of the organization are far-right conspiracy theories.
- **The Written Platform:** Pratt urges voters to visit the DSA website directly to read their explicit, published policies, which prominently include demands to abolish the police.
- **Beyond Labels:** While Pratt used to insult them as "commies," the hosts and Pratt conclude that label is almost too mild: "It's a compliment to them. They're anarchists."
The segment closes on a high note of appreciation from the Besties for Pratt's willingness to step into the civic arena, speak plainly, and cut through conventional political theater.
## Notable quotes
> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=0s) California means to America what America means to the world. — Steve Hilton
> [04:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=263s) You think Gavin Newsom is reading all this before signing it? No. — Steve Hilton
> [16:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=987s) If you don't think it can get worse after Gavin Newsom, I have two words for you: Javier Becerra. — Steve Hilton
> [20:16](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1216s) No, no, my dear, you made my life a show when you burned my town down. — Spencer Pratt
> [21:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1316s) I like to call it a corrupt criminal mafia cartel. Machine is when you're a candidate, you have to call it a machine. These are criminals. — Spencer Pratt
> [30:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=1819s) We've become a state where if you do the right thing, you're punished, and if you do the wrong thing, you're rewarded. — Steve Hilton
> [40:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2421s) Without evidence I would say no... If I had the evidence I would tell you I would be the mayor right now. — Spencer Pratt
> [49:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2989s) Oh, we're not firefighters. — State Parks personnel
> [49:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=2989s) What LA needs is a mayor that enforces the law. Neither Mayor Bass nor Nithya Raman have any intention on enforcing the laws because it doesn't look good. It doesn't look good if you tell the illegal food vendors that they can't ruin a small business that's been paying taxes for 40 years. 'Oh, you're messing with this community, this at-risk community.' No, this is illegal. They're destroying this family's business. — Spencer Pratt
> [51:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3095s) the truth doesn't have a side. — Spencer Pratt
> [51:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3095s) It's not for LA now. And I'm like, damn, I got to fight for America. Like, I'm like Jason Bourne. — Spencer Pratt
> [51:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3095s) If you watch any politician, they're just a bad TikTok influencer... he thinks he's Alix Earle. — Spencer Pratt
> [54:40](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF90rBzl26E&t=3280s) It's a compliment to them. They're anarchists. — Spencer Pratt
## Mentioned
Steve Hilton, Spencer Pratt, Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, David Friedberg, Brad Gerstner, Gavin Newsom, Xavier Becerra, Karen Bass, Nithya Raman, Rick Caruso, Donald Trump, Susan Rice, Peter Thiel, Martin Estrada, Norm Langer, Alix Earle, Chief Executive Magazine, Polymarket, Langer's Delicatessen, Democratic Socialists of America, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, California State Parks, Meta, The Hills, Proposition 40, Braunton's milkvetch
## Video description
(0:00) Steve Hilton joins the Besties!
(3:53) How one-party rule broke the state, regulatory bloat & who really writes the laws
(12:09) The path to victory: the persuadable voter, the cost-of-living pitch & the case against Becerra
(21:46) Spencer Pratt joins: the message that cut through & the LA race that flipped
(26:58) The city up close: the parks, small business & who the rules actually reward
(36:54) Ballot harvesting, voter ID & whether the system is rigged or just legal
(47:13) The Palisades: the empty reservoirs, suing the state & what Spencer does next
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Gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton and former Los Angeles mayoral challenger Spencer Pratt argue that unchecked Democratic dominance and institutional capture have crippled California's economy, infrastructure, and public safety, leaving the state reliant on outsider campaigns and working-class revolt to reverse its decline.
Economic Stagnation and Sacramento's Regulatory Bloat (2:42)
Steve Hilton contends that 16 consecutive years of Democratic control have produced the nation's highest poverty and unemployment rates alongside severe housing unaffordability, with median home prices nearing $1,000,000 against a median personal income of about $65,000. He highlights that California has ranked 50th in business climate by Chief Executive Magazine for over a decade, driven by extreme litigation risks—which he estimates at a 90% chance for business owners—and a legal apparatus sustained by public-sector unions and trial lawyer donors. During the 2023 legislative session alone, Sacramento passed 1,118 bills, contributing to an administrative code exceeding 420,000 regulations.
Hilton's Working-Class Economic Platform (12:08)
To counter Democratic rival Xavier Becerra and attract persuadable voters, Hilton outlines an economic plan focused on pocketbook relief. He proposes a 10% cut to state government headcount, a 5% operational efficiency reduction, defunding ineffective homelessness non-profits, and halting high-speed rail. Hilton claims these reductions would fund an income tax exemption on the first $150,000 of income for Californians.
Fuel Costs and Administrative Deregulation (12:08)
Addressing energy, Hilton advocates expanding in-state oil production and eliminating hidden fuel mechanisms—such as the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and cap-and-invest programs, which he asserts add roughly $1.50 per gallon to fund rail initiatives—to target $3 per gallon gasoline. He additionally pledges to abolish the DMV, capping annual vehicle registrations at a flat $73 to replace fees that routinely approach $1,000, while cutting state regulations down to under 200,000 by the end of his term.
Urban Enforcement Gaps and Small Business Decline (30:19)
Both guests highlight administrative failures in Los Angeles, arguing that municipal tolerance for illegal street conditions penalizes compliant taxpayers. Hilton cites 2018 statewide legislation that legalized sidewalk commerce and stripped municipal restrictions, leaving established storefronts surrounded by unpermitted vendors who pay no taxes or rent, while city-funded harm reduction non-profits operate in open-air drug markets like MacArthur Park. Spencer Pratt notes that the city council allocated $500,000 to subsidize carts for roughly 50,000 street vendors, yet failed to fund a $200,000 reservoir cover repair, leaving Pacific Palisades water storage empty during destructive wildfires.
Disputes Over Ballot Harvesting and Institutional Mechanics (40:21)
Reflecting on his mayoral bid, Pratt argues that standard Republican turnout collapsed, leaving 200,000 local party ballots uncast while organized groups like the Democratic Socialists of America legally canvassed door-to-door to harvest late mail-in ballots. While Pratt clarifies he lacks forensic proof of fraudulent ballots, he contends that decoupling physical ballots from signed mailing envelopes during intake breaks the legal chain of custody, preventing any post-election audit of improper ballots. Jason Calacanis pushes back against stolen-election rhetoric, noting that aggressive multi-visit ballot collection remains fully authorized under current state law.
Hilton and Pratt maintain that traditional party labels are ineffective in California, leaving reform dependent on building broad nonpartisan coalitions among working-class voters; however, questions remain whether outsider candidates can overcome the structural fundraising, ballot collection, and organizational machinery embedded across the state.
[0:00] Steve Hilton: California means to America what America means to the world.
[4:23] Steve Hilton: You think Gavin Newsom is reading all this before signing it? No.
[16:27] Steve Hilton: If you don't think it can get worse after Gavin Newsom, I have two words for you: Javier Becerra.
[20:16] Spencer Pratt: No, no, my dear, you made my life a show when you burned my town down.
[21:56] Spencer Pratt: I like to call it a corrupt criminal mafia cartel. Machine is when you're a candidate, you have to call it a machine. These are criminals.
[30:19] Steve Hilton: We've become a state where if you do the right thing, you're punished, and if you do the wrong thing, you're rewarded.
[40:21] Spencer Pratt: Without evidence I would say no... If I had the evidence I would tell you I would be the mayor right now.
[49:49] State Parks personnel: Oh, we're not firefighters.
[49:49] Spencer Pratt: What LA needs is a mayor that enforces the law. Neither Mayor Bass nor Nithya Raman have any intention on enforcing the laws because it doesn't look good. It doesn't look good if you tell the illegal food vendors that they can't ruin a small business that's been paying taxes for 40 years. 'Oh, you're messing with this community, this at-risk community.' No, this is illegal. They're destroying this family's business.
[51:35] Spencer Pratt: the truth doesn't have a side.
[51:35] Spencer Pratt: It's not for LA now. And I'm like, damn, I got to fight for America. Like, I'm like Jason Bourne.
[51:35] Spencer Pratt: If you watch any politician, they're just a bad TikTok influencer... he thinks he's Alix Earle.
[54:40] Spencer Pratt: It's a compliment to them. They're anarchists.
Original transcript
[0:00] a candidate for the governor of
[0:02] California who is extremely unique in a
[0:04] number of ways. First of all, he's a
[0:06] Republican. And second, he's a Brit.
[0:10] Welcome to the program, Steve Helton.
[0:13] It's a joke. I mean, what are these
[0:14] Democrats doing? We already have the
[0:17] highest taxes in the country. Your first
[0:20] 100 grand tax-free. Even Katie Porter
[0:22] agrees with that.
[0:23] >> Prior to that, he was in Silicon Valley
[0:25] as a tech entrepreneur. People are so
[0:27] sick of the nonsense. Is everything
[0:29] twice as good when they've doubled the
[0:31] budget? Of course not. California means
[0:33] to America what America means to the
[0:35] world. Please welcome Steve Hilton.
[0:50] Wake up. Wake up, buddy. Let's go.
[0:55] >> Hi.
[0:56] >> All right. Wake up, California. We have
[0:59] seven weeks to save our state. Are you
[1:01] ready?
[1:02] >> Are we going to do it?
[1:05] We got seven weeks. That's all. But we
[1:09] can do it.
[1:10] >> Seven weeks. Um, there's a lot of people
[1:13] here who aren't from California.
[1:17] >> Well, actually, who's from California?
[1:19] Raise your hand. Some
[1:21] >> res
[1:24] California. Yeah. What's but but help
[1:26] explain why California is so important.
[1:29] >> California is not just the biggest state
[1:32] uh the richest state and the richest
[1:35] most important country on earth. It's
[1:36] it's as I said just then and and you saw
[1:40] California means to America what America
[1:43] means to the world. I'm an immigrant
[1:44] moved here in 2012
[1:47] neighbors with Chamath. So how about
[1:48] that? I picked a good spot. Um and
[1:52] I was inspired by this state. It
[1:56] represents for me and for so many people
[1:59] over the like century plus that this
[2:02] state has been growing and leading in so
[2:04] many ways the absolute essence of what
[2:06] we love about America. innovation and
[2:09] energy and ambition and hustle and that
[2:13] kind of rebel spirit that that create
[2:15] that's why we've created so many
[2:17] industries here that have completely
[2:20] transformed the world starting right
[2:21] here in Los Angeles over a century ago
[2:24] the entertainment industry obviously
[2:26] tech that you're all so familiar with
[2:28] but also our great a we have the leading
[2:30] agriculture industry in the world we've
[2:33] in so many different fields we have led
[2:35] the world that's why it's so important
[2:37] We don't let California go down any
[2:41] further.
[2:42] >> What is the state of the state then?
[2:45] >> This state, I'm afraid, despite all our
[2:47] incredible advantages, and of course, we
[2:49] still have them. The things that the
[2:51] people in charge haven't managed yet to
[2:52] ruin, um, our incredible natural beauty
[2:55] and the weather and the energy that you
[2:58] see in our startup communities, the best
[3:00] innovation ecosystem anywhere in the
[3:01] world, great universities. But look at
[3:04] the facts. We've had 16 years of one
[3:06] party in control. Today in California,
[3:08] we have the highest poverty rate in the
[3:10] country, the highest unemployment rate,
[3:12] the highest cost of living by far. Look
[3:14] at how you we have housing cost the
[3:16] highest in the country. That's why
[3:17] people are leaving. They are leaving.
[3:19] Millions of people leaving California.
[3:21] This beautiful place.
[3:22] >> You got two right here.
[3:23] >> And exactly. You've got now Chief
[3:26] Executive Magazine has ranked California
[3:28] in its annual survey of business leaders
[3:31] for more than a decade 50th out of 50
[3:34] for business climate. It's just
[3:36] incredible when you look at the range of
[3:39] issues where the policies that we've
[3:42] been subjected to have just
[3:45] >> created the worst outcomes. Not just um
[3:48] bad in comparison to other states, the
[3:50] worst out of every state. So look, we
[3:52] know we know how you measure the
[3:54] outcome, but go go back a few layers and
[3:57] think about just the root causes.
[3:59] Democrats have run this state for a long
[4:02] time. Democrats used to be sort of like
[4:04] peace and love and permissiveness and
[4:07] openness. Um, so just
[4:11] corral that for us because I think this
[4:13] is a place now that has become rules on
[4:15] top of rules on top of rules. How did a
[4:17] group of people who basically were just
[4:19] like peace and love and leave us alone
[4:21] become the rule police?
[4:23] >> It's ex exactly right. Um we this is
[4:26] what happens with one party rule
[4:28] actually and you see that in history. um
[4:31] whether it's on the from the right or
[4:32] the left, it always ends up with a kind
[4:35] of insular self- reggarding elite that
[4:39] just forgets about their responsibility
[4:42] to everyone else and just just gets
[4:44] obsessed with their own ideology, their
[4:47] internal motivations that whoever their
[4:50] interest groups are that they represent.
[4:51] And by the way, in Sacramento, we have
[4:53] one of the most corrupt systems anywhere
[4:55] in in in the country in terms of the
[4:57] power of the donors to the politicians
[4:59] who make the decisions, the the unions,
[5:02] the uh the trial lawyers. That's why we
[5:04] have the worst litigation risk anywhere
[5:06] in the country. You run a business in
[5:08] California. You start a business in
[5:09] California, 90% chance you're going to
[5:11] end up in litigation. So, it's just a
[5:13] complete mess when you get one party
[5:15] rules. Now, um 16 years, the Democrats
[5:19] have run everything. all eight statewide
[5:22] elected positions, the state legislature
[5:24] with a two-thirds majority, every big
[5:26] county, every big city, the state
[5:28] supreme court with a 6-1
[5:30] Democrat-appointed majority. So, this is
[5:32] what happens. The rules get piled up
[5:35] because every year they pass legislation
[5:38] that just adds to the burden and the
[5:40] bloat. Last year, the the the Sacramento
[5:42] legislature passed 1,118
[5:46] bills. So, we printed them out. I did an
[5:49] >> Very productive. We'd very exact
[5:52] productivity going up there. We're going
[5:54] to we're going to be doing this year's
[5:55] in Sacramento on Thursday. We printed it
[5:57] all out. I mean, I'm not that tall, but
[5:59] it was twice my height. Okay. Nobody's
[6:03] reading this. You think Gavin Newsome is
[6:05] reading all this before signing it? No.
[6:08] It's written in the interests of the
[6:11] narrow groups that control that process
[6:14] and it benefits them but hurts everybody
[6:17] else. That's why we have by far the
[6:19] highest regulatory blow. That's why one
[6:21] of the things I'm announcing today
[6:23] actually is that we're going to cut the
[6:25] number of regulations in California from
[6:28] where we are today, which is over
[6:29] 420,000
[6:31] by the end of my first term to under
[6:33] 200,000, which makes us competitive with
[6:35] the rest of the country.
[6:37] Now, what but if if there's a if there's
[6:39] a nar if there's a narrow interest group
[6:42] that controls the legislature, is it not
[6:44] also the case that that narrow interest
[6:46] group controls the machinery that I
[6:49] would argue doesn't necessarily elect
[6:51] people, but appoints people, which makes
[6:53] it difficult for rational outsiders to
[6:55] have a shot at a true kind of democratic
[6:57] campaign. that they own the ballot
[7:00] harvesting machines, that they own the
[7:02] campaigning machines, that they get
[7:03] everyone in the state behind them, all
[7:05] the unions, all the votes, everything is
[7:06] aligned under one controlled mechanism.
[7:09] And therefore, it is at this point
[7:11] gotten so far down the road that is
[7:13] impenetrable and we cannot actually
[7:15] break in.
[7:16] >> Well, it's definitely the case that we
[7:18] have this very uh powerful and corruptly
[7:21] funded machine that's running every I
[7:23] agree with that. In fact, one of the
[7:25] ways that we're telling the story of
[7:27] this campaign is the people versus the
[7:29] machine. That's what this is. But
[7:31] there's a majority of Californians who
[7:32] want change. That's clear from every
[7:34] single poll. When we started the general
[7:37] election part of this campaign, if you
[7:39] look at the primary results on primary
[7:41] night in California in the governor's
[7:43] race, uh if you add up the myself and
[7:45] the other Republican, that's um 35%. I
[7:49] got 25%, the other Republican 10. You
[7:51] add up all the Democrats, 65%. That's a
[7:53] 30point gap. The first poll came out, it
[7:56] was a 25point gap. I know a lot of
[7:58] people were discouraged by that, but we
[8:00] were just beginning our campaign. And
[8:02] look what's happened just in the last
[8:03] couple of months from a 30point gap on
[8:06] primary night to 25 points, 18 points,
[8:09] uh 14 points. The latest poll, an 8
[8:11] point gap. We are showing that people
[8:14] want change in this state. And I just
[8:16] don't accept that we have to put up with
[8:18] this. And your only choice is to put up
[8:20] with all this nonsense and bloat and tax
[8:23] and cost and all the hassles of living
[8:25] here or trying to work here. Uh your
[8:28] only choice is to put up with it or
[8:29] leave. That's if I may say so as a new
[8:33] American citizen. That's a very
[8:36] unAmerican attitude that it can't be
[8:38] done, that we can't make change happen.
[8:41] We've got to fight for it. There are
[8:43] plenty of people who um believe that the
[8:47] state needs change. We just have to show
[8:50] in the next seven weeks that change
[8:52] really is possible. If we get more
[8:54] votes, we'll win. It's quite simple.
[8:56] >> Steve, why do you think that people feel
[8:58] that it would be almost a betrayal
[9:01] though, even if they want change to not,
[9:05] you know, vote Democrat? Why is that?
[9:06] There there there seems to be in
[9:08] California, at least as I've lived it, a
[9:10] lot of very rational people who feel
[9:12] sort of out of place. They're not quite
[9:15] sure whether they should be a
[9:16] Republican. They're made to feel guilty
[9:17] for not being completely a Democrat. So,
[9:19] they either don't vote or they just go
[9:21] in and they find the D and check the
[9:23] box. Um and so all of the insanity sort
[9:27] of compounds. And if that if that
[9:28] continues to happen,
[9:30] don't we need to hit rock bottom? Like
[9:32] isn't there going to be some financial
[9:34] event or otherwise that needs to happen
[9:36] to reset?
[9:36] >> I got to tell you, I think it's pretty
[9:38] rock bottom now in terms of what it's
[9:40] actually like to live here. I mean, I
[9:42] traveled this state. I've been to every
[9:43] one of our 58 counties. No candidate's
[9:46] done that in a very long time. I see
[9:48] we've done hundreds of events, town
[9:49] halls up and down the state. Every
[9:52] single day, I see this the the just the
[9:55] pain and the struggle in people's eyes
[9:57] to live here. I mean, look, we house you
[9:59] try and own a home here. We used to have
[10:01] the highest rate of home ownership in
[10:04] the country in California and the most
[10:06] affordable housing. Now the median house
[10:08] price in California is nearly a million
[10:10] dollars. The median salary in California
[10:13] for an individual 65,000. I mean it's
[10:15] just completely broken. And people are
[10:18] broken by this and they are desperate
[10:20] for change. The number one thing that
[10:22] people say to me when I'm out and about
[10:24] and where they come up to in the airport
[10:26] or the street wherever we are at my
[10:27] events it's not good luck, hope you do
[10:29] well. There's an intensity this year.
[10:32] The number one, it's almost word for
[10:34] word. This is what everyone says to me.
[10:35] I've heard it even here backstage. You
[10:38] have to win. There's an intensity about
[10:41] it this year. Um, and I think that this
[10:44] is the year we can really do that. Just
[10:46] to your point about Democrats, that's
[10:48] true that you've had this habit of
[10:50] voting Democrat even though the results
[10:53] have been increasingly disappointing.
[10:55] But I think that's changing. I'm just I
[10:57] don't know. I give Friday 911. I was at
[10:59] the 911 memorial event in Sacramento.
[11:03] Not there participating. I was just
[11:05] there to show my respects. I took my
[11:07] seat in the back. Um, people came up to
[11:10] me, take pictures and so on as they
[11:11] often do. Just there just randomly in a
[11:14] pretty small event. I had a number of
[11:17] people, must been four or five people
[11:19] just randomly all almost said the same
[11:22] word for word thing. I'm a lifelong
[11:25] Democrat, but I'm voting for you this
[11:27] year. It's just I think we have reached
[11:30] that point and I' that's why I'm saying
[11:33] we got to wake up because the other
[11:35] thing I hear all the time from business
[11:39] leaders or business owners every single
[11:41] day is if you don't make it in November,
[11:44] we're out. And I'm just serious about
[11:47] this. If we if we think that it's bad
[11:52] now, I think that the exodus of business
[11:54] that we've seen from California in the
[11:56] last couple of years, if we don't show
[12:00] some change here and some balance in our
[12:01] system, it's going to turn into a
[12:03] stampede for the exits. It really is. I
[12:06] think this is a now or never election
[12:07] for California.
[12:08] >> Let's let's talk about the metrics and
[12:11] the path to victory here. Poly market
[12:14] has you at 5% chance of winning. The
[12:16] actual polls have you as close as 8% to
[12:19] 20%. And it's incredibly polarized. You
[12:22] have 90% or 89% of Republican voters.
[12:25] Okay, mission accomplished. You've only
[12:27] got 30% of independents work to do. And
[12:30] then if you look at Democrats, you've
[12:32] got less than 10%. So you've captured
[12:35] the Republicans making some headway with
[12:38] independents, but you're not making,
[12:40] aside from the anecdotal stories you're
[12:42] telling us, massive headway with these
[12:43] Democrats yet. But you have one debate
[12:47] September 30th versus Bisera. What do
[12:49] you have to do in that debate to change
[12:51] the narrative and to shake this up?
[12:54] >> What's the plan?
[12:55] >> No, it's a great question. It's the
[12:57] question in many ways. Um, and I'll just
[13:00] give you our metric and our numbers,
[13:02] which is, you know, we wanted to see
[13:03] what is the pathway to victory for real.
[13:06] So, this is not us cooking the numbers
[13:08] at all. This is a poll that we took
[13:11] right at the beginning of the of the
[13:12] campaign when it's clear that it was
[13:15] myself and uh Javier Bera and these are
[13:18] the numbers. 33% solidly with me, 41%
[13:23] solidly with Basera, 26%
[13:26] um up for grabs. Now most of that 26%
[13:30] have voted Democrat before, but they are
[13:33] not committed Democrats. They are open
[13:35] to persuasion. And then you ask, well,
[13:38] who are those people and what are they
[13:39] focused on? Overwhelmingly,
[13:42] uh, non-oleducated,
[13:44] regular working people in California who
[13:46] are at breaking point financially. And
[13:49] they're overwhelming interest is
[13:51] practical things to help with the cost
[13:53] of living. And that's what our
[13:54] campaign's been all about, not just in
[13:58] specific, but since the beginning of the
[14:01] campaign. And I can tell you what it is
[14:02] very simply. um to reduce the bloat and
[14:06] the waste in our budget. They've doubled
[14:07] the budget of the state of California in
[14:09] the last 10 years with two million
[14:11] people having left the state.
[14:13] Everything's gotten worse. We're going
[14:14] to cancel highspeed rail. We're going to
[14:16] have a 10% headcount reduction
[14:20] in the government. 5% efficiency many
[14:23] other things. Stop the funding of these
[14:24] nonprofits that are making homelessness
[14:27] worse. And that all adds up to enough
[14:29] money for us to cut state income tax.
[14:32] your first 150 grand tax-free, no state
[14:36] income tax. That puts thousands of
[14:38] dollars in the pockets of regular
[14:41] working people. Secondly, we're going to
[14:43] have a sensible energy policy. Instead
[14:45] of shipping oil halfway around the world
[14:48] pretending that we're doing something
[14:49] about climate change, even though we're
[14:51] actually increasing emissions by doing
[14:53] that, we're going to use California
[14:55] energy resources. And that means and and
[14:58] get rid of the ridiculous outdated
[14:59] regulations and the hidden taxes on gas
[15:02] so we can deal with the number one thing
[15:04] that's hurting working people every day,
[15:05] which is gas prices. Instead of $6 gas,
[15:08] we can get towards $3 gas in California
[15:11] like you have in other states right now
[15:12] >> by getting rid of the emissions.
[15:14] um premium or getting rid of the
[15:17] cleaning of the gasoline.
[15:18] >> No, it's not that at all. It's the
[15:20] hidden taxes, the low car, all these
[15:21] things. The low carbon fuel standard,
[15:24] the cap and invest program. That's about
[15:26] a $150 on the gas price right there.
[15:28] Guess where that money goes? The cap and
[15:30] invest program. That's what's funding
[15:31] highspeed rail. I mean, you dig into all
[15:34] these things in California. They are
[15:36] gouging you on every single possible
[15:38] thing they can. the announcement we made
[15:40] last week. It's going to help regular
[15:42] working people uh to register your car
[15:44] or truck in California, hundreds of
[15:47] dollars. Many people paying $8, $900,
[15:50] over $1,000. In most other states, it's
[15:52] under $100. It's another hidden tax.
[15:55] Well, we are going to cap vehicle
[15:57] registration at the flat registration
[15:59] rate of $73 per vehicle per year by
[16:02] abolishing the DMV, which is a symbol of
[16:06] the
[16:08] a symbol of this this this absolutely
[16:12] ridiculous bloated nanny state
[16:15] bureaucracy that is driving everyone
[16:18] crazy and driving up everyone's cost.
[16:20] You just need to send an outsider to
[16:23] Sacramento that wants to shake up this
[16:26] system that's clearly broken.
[16:27] >> Why shouldn't people vote for Bisera?
[16:28] What is the flaw in this person?
[16:30] >> Well, I I mean, the short answer is I'm
[16:33] going to quote uh the people who worked
[16:35] with him. He touts the fact that he's
[16:37] got so much experience. Yeah, he's a
[16:38] 36-year career politician. Let's look at
[16:42] uh the verdict not of other Republicans,
[16:44] but Democrats who work with him. Susan
[16:46] Rice, President Biden's head of domestic
[16:48] policy, was President Obama's national
[16:51] security um head of n national security
[16:53] adviser. She worked with him for four
[16:56] years. Her description, Bera is a quote
[17:00] idiot.
[17:01] >> Okay, so the reason not to vote for him
[17:03] is by the way, she also said, and I
[17:05] don't know quite what she meant by this,
[17:06] he's a ass. So make of that what
[17:09] you will.
[17:10] >> Sounds like he's pretty qualified for a
[17:12] role to run California.
[17:13] >> Exactly. Maybe it's just He's a
[17:15] ass idiot.
[17:15] >> A ass idiot.
[17:16] ass. So that give him the keys.
[17:18] Another one right from the Biden cabinet
[17:21] said, "But the thing about Javier you
[17:23] need to know is running a large
[17:24] executive agency is not exactly his
[17:26] skill set." I mean this is just if if
[17:29] you don't think it can get worse after
[17:32] Gavin Newsome, I have two words for you.
[17:34] Javier Bera. He is exactly what the
[17:38] machine to your point wants. a puppet
[17:40] who will do the bidding of the unions
[17:43] and the trial lawyers and all these
[17:45] activists that have run ruined uh the
[17:47] the business climate in California, made
[17:49] everything more expensive. He'll just go
[17:51] along with it. He's even even worse than
[17:53] Newsome.
[17:54] >> I want to get you in Sachs here. Um why
[17:57] haven't the Republicans
[17:59] invested in California more? Because
[18:01] you're coming in, Steve, I think with a
[18:03] lack of infrastructure, correct? And you
[18:06] obviously speak for all Republicans. So,
[18:09] why haven't
[18:10] >> Well,
[18:10] >> on this podcast,
[18:11] >> we haven't we haven't had a candidate as
[18:13] good as Steve, so we needed the right
[18:15] candidate. Right.
[18:15] >> So, can can you get some more money from
[18:18] President Trump? He just called in, but
[18:20] when he calls in this afternoon, can we
[18:21] get him some more funds here? He seems
[18:23] like he's got a puncher shot. I mean,
[18:25] I'm If you put this energy into the
[18:27] debate, maybe you take this guy out.
[18:29] Look, I think how gone is California,
[18:30] sir. California. I mean, look, what we
[18:34] need is for this election to be about
[18:36] the state, not about national politics,
[18:39] right? And Steve is focused on the
[18:41] problems here. Let's not bring in the
[18:43] rest of the country because we have to
[18:45] appeal to the independents. And Steve is
[18:47] right. The state's really broken. We
[18:48] have all these budget deficits for no
[18:49] reason. We're gifted with so many
[18:51] unbelievable assets. We have Silicon
[18:53] Valley. By the way, you know what? One
[18:55] observation Peter Till made years ago
[18:57] was that Silicon Valley was like a
[18:59] resource curse for the state of
[19:00] California because it generates so much
[19:03] wealth and taxes that they don't need a
[19:05] good government here.
[19:06] >> You know, it's like one of and that's
[19:07] how you get a one party state.
[19:08] >> Can I just sort of pick up on that if I
[19:09] may? So if you actually there's there
[19:12] was a brilliant moment I mean depressing
[19:14] moment with Bera just before the the
[19:16] primary where he was on CNN and he was
[19:18] asked um that question and the to be
[19:22] fair to this the host said look we got
[19:23] some problems here homelessness highest
[19:25] poverty rate highest unemployment rate
[19:27] terrible cost of living uh what do you
[19:29] think really would you have done
[19:31] differently what needs to change from a
[19:33] policy point of view he literally said
[19:35] well you know with the fourth biggest
[19:37] economy in the world and many people
[19:39] still love coming to Disneyland and our
[19:41] beaches. So things must be going right.
[19:44] And the point about the resource curse
[19:46] is exactly right. This is what you hear
[19:48] from Gavin Newsome the whole time.
[19:49] Fourth biggest economy in the world.
[19:51] That's mainly driven by the fact that we
[19:54] have this incredibly successful sector
[19:56] that's generating a lot of revenue but
[19:58] not creating a lot of jobs. It's a very
[20:01] imbalanced economy. The other reason
[20:02] that we have the fourth biggest economy
[20:04] in the world is that that number is the
[20:06] GDP number includes the size of the
[20:08] government. They've doubled the size of
[20:10] the government in the last 10 years. The
[20:12] num the the figure for net job private
[20:16] sector job creation since the pandemic
[20:17] in California is basically zero. It's a
[20:21] disaster economically, but we're kept
[20:23] afloat by that one sector. A
[20:25] >> lot of it home.
[20:26] >> And by the way, if Prop 40 passes, I
[20:28] think that'll no longer be
[20:29] >> it's going. Exactly. That's why
[20:31] honestly, wake up everybody. This is a
[20:34] really serious moment.
[20:36] >> Hey uh Friedberg, we had an idea. You
[20:38] have another guest here who might be
[20:39] great to join. Steve.
[20:41] >> Yeah. So, Steve, you know, you've
[20:44] obviously I think um been running a
[20:46] great campaign. Someone else ran a great
[20:48] campaign here in LA and we were hoping
[20:50] you'd be okay to have him come out early
[20:51] and maybe join you for a little bit.
[20:53] >> Yeah. I don't know who you could be
[20:54] thinking of.
[20:54] >> Let's find out.
[20:56] >> Let's have a look. He's trying to make
[20:58] the campaign a reality show. No, no, my
[21:01] my dear, you made my life a show when
[21:05] you burned my town down.
[21:09] >> You know his face. You know his name.
[21:11] His name is Spencer Prattton.
[21:12] >> A media entrepreneur.
[21:14] >> To be clear, I never wanted to run for
[21:16] any political office or have anything to
[21:18] do with politicians.
[21:19] >> Like to see him do well. He's a
[21:21] character.
[21:22] >> Mayor Bass and I are definitely not
[21:24] working together. I blame this person
[21:27] for burning my house and my parents
[21:29] house and my town and all my neighbors
[21:30] down. I'm only running for mayor to to
[21:33] do one last Hail Mary. Please welcome
[21:36] Spencer Pratt.
[21:45] >> Wow, you're popular. Wow.
[21:47] >> Popular with this crowd. All right. Nice
[21:48] to see you. All right. Welcome,
[21:51] >> Steve. Spencer. Spencer. Steve. Buddy,
[21:54] how are you?
[21:56] >> You guys have some things in common.
[21:58] >> I mean, how how hard is it to break the
[22:01] machine in California? Spencer,
[22:03] >> uh, he keeps calling it a machine. I
[22:05] like to call it a corrupt criminal mafia
[22:08] cartel. You know, machine is when you're
[22:11] a candidate, you have to call it a a
[22:13] machine. These are criminals. That's
[22:15] that simple. They launder all of our tax
[22:18] money to increase people dying on our
[22:22] streets. And then they say, "Oh, he's a
[22:24] Republican candidate. You can't vote for
[22:27] him. Let's let people keep dying on our
[22:29] sidewalks cuz we have compassion." So,
[22:32] no, those are criminals. Actually,
[22:34] >> Spencer, the criminal machine.
[22:36] >> Spencer, you did something worthy of a
[22:38] round of applause for sure.
[22:39] >> Let's go. Spencer, you did something
[22:42] extraordinary um in terms of an
[22:45] independent candidate getting massive
[22:48] earned media with these videos, AI
[22:50] generated, but they were incredibly
[22:54] deaf at communicating messages. Who made
[22:57] them? Did you direct them? Was this like
[22:59] a covert group chat with a not and then
[23:02] how can we get Steve to do these?
[23:06] >> I am. We got the same team. Okay, tell
[23:09] us what's going on. Yeah.
[23:10] >> So,
[23:11] >> and the impact it had cuz we saw them.
[23:13] Yeah.
[23:13] >> Initially,
[23:15] what kicked off was just the truth. You
[23:17] that's all I did. I went out on as many
[23:19] platforms and I just started saying the
[23:21] truth and what that created was a
[23:24] grassroots movement and to reference a
[23:28] machine. It became a machine that
[23:30] creative people across the country could
[23:33] throw their genius or their ideas into
[23:37] it. I wouldn't say it was the AI that
[23:40] worked. I think it was a piece of a lot
[23:42] of things that were working. Same with
[23:44] Steve. You know, AI is a piece of it.
[23:46] Every, you know, people just expect
[23:47] these things now. But for me, it's the
[23:50] message that was cutting through it. It
[23:52] wasn't the AI. It was what was in these
[23:54] videos. I was saying in real life, just
[23:57] as Steve is saying in real life, people
[23:59] are tired of being lied to. People want
[24:02] the truth. I didn't set out to be, as
[24:05] the president would call me, a big MAGA
[24:07] guy or the guy with the mojo for the
[24:09] Republicans. I set out as a guy whose
[24:11] town burned down, my neighbors burned
[24:13] down. I just wanted somebody speaking
[24:15] the truth. And that wasn't political to
[24:17] me. And so that's why most of the people
[24:19] that voted for me were Democrats. I
[24:22] would have won a 100% and beat all the
[24:25] super meth addicts that voted for Nitia
[24:27] Ramen and Bass uh if the 200,000
[24:31] Republicans that are registered in Los
[24:33] Angeles actually voted. And that's what
[24:35] we need people to do for Steve. People
[24:36] need to vote. We've got to this idea
[24:39] with the mail and ballots and all the
[24:41] alleged voter fraud and the non-alleged
[24:43] voter fraud that we can't beat this
[24:46] system, but people just need to show up.
[24:48] One of the great things the president
[24:50] did say was the too big to rig. And not
[24:53] only is that work, you know, I've talked
[24:55] to a lot of people behind the scenes,
[24:57] you can beat these margins of cheating
[24:59] with voting.
[25:01] Steve, can you I mean, Spencer, can you
[25:02] actually explain what happened in your
[25:04] election? Because for the casual
[25:07] observer, it seemed like there was a
[25:08] period you were winning and then
[25:10] something happened and then a lot of
[25:12] votes showed up at the end and then
[25:13] there was a I So for for those of us
[25:16] that were not steeped in what happened
[25:17] in LA, can you just give us a summary of
[25:18] what happened?
[25:19] >> Yeah, I was at Don Antonio's celebrating
[25:22] while my opponent Nitia Ramen from the
[25:24] Kami DSA was crying on camera because
[25:28] she was losing by 10%. And then
[25:31] mathematically the most impossible thing
[25:34] in the history of politics happened. The
[25:36] third place candidate started slowly
[25:40] each day winning. But of course they'll
[25:42] say, "Oh yes, but Democrats, they they
[25:44] vote by mail and ballots." But this
[25:46] Democrat was against the current mayor
[25:49] who's also a Democrat. And the third
[25:51] place candidate somehow bypassed not
[25:53] just me, but the first place Democratic
[25:56] candidate to get just enough votes to
[25:59] beat me. And here's my favorite part of
[26:01] the 43,000 votes she got in those mail
[26:04] in ballots. How many naked drug addict
[26:08] zombies are there in downtown LA in this
[26:10] area? 43,000. There's really about a
[26:13] 100,000, but they say 43,000. So again,
[26:18] I'm not saying they cheated because the
[26:20] system
[26:21] >> I think you just did, guys. Wait, no.
[26:23] But hold on a second. You just did say
[26:25] they cheated.
[26:26] >> Okay. The system is designed so what we
[26:29] think is cheating is not cheating. Cuz
[26:32] ready for this mail and ballots, the
[26:34] witness can sign with a smiley face, an
[26:37] X. This witness can be a witness to
[26:39] >> They're not allowed to check.
[26:41] >> This This witness can be a witness to
[26:43] 43,000 ballots.
[26:44] >> All right, guys. Listen, these two are
[26:45] only here cuz Steve's got to go to
[26:47] another thing. But I want to see if
[26:49] Spencer and Steve maybe have you guys
[26:51] met or talked much about his campaign
[26:53] and is there anything you can share
[26:55] about the experience here that you've
[26:56] just went through?
[26:57] >> Can can I just want to say one thing to
[26:59] underline what Spencer said at the
[27:01] beginning which is the deep thing that's
[27:03] going on here about what's happening
[27:05] with our money for everyone who put
[27:07] their hand up and said I'm here in
[27:09] California. So you'll know this story.
[27:11] Um you've seen it, you've been there,
[27:13] you told the story. I was with at
[27:14] Langers the other week. Langanger's
[27:16] Delhi right by MacArthur Park and we
[27:19] crossed the G and nearly 80 years in
[27:21] business a couple of years ago uh Norm
[27:24] Langanger wanted to shut it down because
[27:26] the chaos all around in LA the customers
[27:29] rallied around it's still in business
[27:30] and the chaos is back even though you
[27:33] got a DA now in LA that's cracking down
[27:35] on the drugs and the crime and you've
[27:38] got a US attorney Billy good friend of
[27:41] ours who's doing a great job trying to
[27:43] go after the criminal gangs and the
[27:44] cartels But but what's actually
[27:47] happening? This was a Tuesday morning
[27:49] last week about 10:30 midm morning. We
[27:52] he said come and see what's happening.
[27:54] It's like whack-a-ole because you go out
[27:57] into MacArthur Park 10:30 on a Tuesday
[27:59] morning. Every single place you look
[28:02] you've got the people you described. You
[28:04] got crack pipes, people smoking crack,
[28:06] injecting drugs folded over with
[28:08] fentinel in the middle of a beautiful
[28:10] sunny day in the center of LA. Dozens
[28:13] and dozens of people. Why? Because every
[28:16] single day, four nonprofits show up
[28:20] handing out crack pipes, handing out
[28:22] needles, handing out drugs. Who's paying
[28:25] for that? You are. We are. We are paying
[28:29] for these people.
[28:29] >> What do you mean we're paying for drugs?
[28:31] >> Because the taxpayers are funding the
[28:33] nonprofits who are handing out the crack
[28:35] pipes, the needles, and the drugs.
[28:36] >> No. What drugs are we talking about?
[28:38] >> Fentanyl. They hand out fentanyl
[28:39] needles. A black G.
[28:41] >> I pay taxes. They take the taxes. They
[28:44] buy fentinel and then they give it to
[28:45] >> Oh, they buy the needles. And
[28:48] interestingly enough, one of these
[28:49] people from the NOS's that was handing
[28:51] out the needles. Billis also caught him
[28:54] selling the drugs too. So technically,
[28:57] you're not buying the drugs, but the
[28:58] people that were paying for the needles
[29:00] happened to also be selling the drugs on
[29:02] the side.
[29:04] >> I ju can I just tell I I'm going to be
[29:07] >> it's called the side quest in our
[29:08] industry.
[29:09] >> I just want to say one one other story
[29:11] that really captured I I'll head that
[29:14] out. I just want to tell this other
[29:15] story that capt this story that we've
[29:17] just
[29:18] >> we've just had experience of and one
[29:20] other that actually captures for me in a
[29:22] deeper way what this election is all
[29:23] about. Just a couple of days before that
[29:26] experience in MacArthur Park, there's
[29:28] this Latino couple wanted me to come and
[29:29] see their business in South Central LA.
[29:32] It's, you know, it's not Skid Row, but
[29:34] it's pretty rough and it's the usual
[29:36] squalor that I'm afraid we're used to in
[29:38] this city because they don't know how to
[29:40] run the place. But in the middle of all
[29:42] that squala, this beautiful little
[29:44] store, they run a store. It's a shoe
[29:46] store. And they've been running it 14
[29:49] years. Latino couple. We went in, we
[29:52] were talking, they gave me all the usual
[29:53] things that I'm very familiar with, the
[29:55] taxes, the ridiculous bureaucracy, the
[29:58] permits that get more complicated and
[30:00] costly every year, the electric bill,
[30:02] etc. Said, "But that's not why we wanted
[30:04] you to come here. Come with me." They
[30:06] took me outside. You walk along. We we
[30:09] went for a walk. Two city blocks. could
[30:11] have gone even further. Every single
[30:13] part of the sidewalk, street vendors.
[30:17] You think illegal street vendors. What
[30:19] are they selling? Shoes and apparel and
[30:23] t-shirts. Just the entire sidewalk.
[30:26] this 14-year business, a lovely little
[30:29] local business, everything spotless,
[30:32] everything clean. Exactly what we would
[30:33] want to see, is going out of business
[30:35] because you got people there that are
[30:37] not paying tax, not paying electric, not
[30:40] paying rent, not complying with any
[30:42] licensing. And then I said to the guy,
[30:45] when did all this happen? Uh when did it
[30:47] start? Was this has this been here all
[30:49] the time you've been here? No, it's the
[30:50] last six or seven years. Said, is it
[30:52] something to do with the pandemic? No. I
[30:54] looked into it eight years ago in 2018.
[30:57] They passed a bill in Sacramento to
[30:58] legalize street vending in California
[31:02] across the state. Cities can't do
[31:03] anything about it. Counties can't do
[31:05] anything about it. Um you've got and
[31:07] langers, you've got food stands there
[31:09] that are pouring their grease into the
[31:11] drain right in front of their store. You
[31:13] got rats, you got all of it legalized.
[31:16] And what does it tell you when you take
[31:19] that into account and then what you see
[31:21] in Macarthur Park with the drugs? You
[31:23] know what you guys should do?
[31:24] >> Can I just tell you what this lesson is
[31:26] from this? That we've become a state
[31:29] where if you do the right thing, you're
[31:32] punished and if you do the wrong thing,
[31:34] you're rewarded. That is upside down.
[31:37] But that's the story bel beneath
[31:39] everything. And that's what we need to
[31:41] turn around. That's what this election
[31:42] is actually about. No, I I really think
[31:45] it's important for you guys to be able
[31:47] to tell the stories of these specific
[31:48] laws because it doesn't it doesn't
[31:51] matter your political persuasion when
[31:53] you hear that if it is as accurate as
[31:55] you say, it's functionally one of the
[31:57] stupidest things I've ever heard. And if
[31:59] there's a 20 or 30 of these examples,
[32:02] it's important for people to know this
[32:04] because that's the only thing that
[32:05] cracks this entrenched system because I
[32:08] do think that these belief systems are
[32:10] very difficult to turn over and you have
[32:14] to just hit them with facts over and
[32:16] over. But these things are in insane if
[32:18] if AC as accurate as you said, Steve,
[32:20] it's insane.
[32:21] >> The craziest part about this, so there's
[32:24] they say there's 50,000 food vendors.
[32:27] 50,000. and they made it more
[32:29] affordable. So, most of them don't even
[32:30] have the permit that costs $21, but our
[32:33] city council green lit and they already
[32:36] did this. They gave these food vendors a
[32:39] $500,000 to give them an actual cart. My
[32:42] town burned down because Mayor Bass and
[32:45] the LWP didn't repair the reservoir
[32:49] cover that was $200,000.
[32:52] So they have money to have a lot of
[32:54] these people are not cit taxpaying
[32:58] citizens. They have the money to give
[32:59] them $500,000 for food cards, but they
[33:02] can't get the civic palaces is paying
[33:05] most of the taxes for the whole city.
[33:07] They can't get the reservoir cut.
[33:08] >> What does it say, Spencer? If this city
[33:12] elects Karen Bass again and what does it
[33:16] say in terms of lessons about your
[33:18] campaign that you can't beat somebody
[33:21] that incompetent?
[33:22] >> I mean, we're up against dumb and dumber
[33:24] would say they're less dumb than picking
[33:27] this socialist communist alleged
[33:30] terrorist supporter, uh, Nitia Ramen.
[33:32] So, we're in a position where it's
[33:35] either worse or worse. And at least with
[33:37] Mayor Bass, we know, oh, she only burns
[33:39] down one town every four years,
[33:43] >> right?
[33:44] >> How many does Nitia Ramen burn down?
[33:46] >> We'll find out.
[33:46] >> Yeah. So, no, it's I hate to say those.
[33:48] Let's hope we don't, you know, what can
[33:50] I say? That's not a complete joke,
[33:52] right? What what you just said. So, we
[33:54] launched our general election campaign
[33:56] after the primary in Boille Heights,
[33:58] East LA. Why? because that that was the
[34:02] site of another fire where Karen Bass
[34:04] was out of town. Incredible. The
[34:07] warehouse fire that burned for a week.
[34:09] She was out of town for that one as
[34:10] well. Um and you had it was a warehouse.
[34:13] You had 85 million pounds of rotting
[34:16] meat that was left there for five weeks.
[34:20] This is a workingclass Latino
[34:22] neighborhood in LA. It's just you. We
[34:25] launched our campaign that the press
[34:26] wasn't very happy because you have flies
[34:28] everywhere. The whole place stinks. You
[34:31] have rats, medieval diseases. This is in
[34:34] the the the second city of America. I
[34:37] mean, it's just what these people have
[34:39] done is actually unforgivable. We've got
[34:42] to kick these people out this year. We
[34:44] really do.
[34:45] >> Spencer, before Steve leaves, any advice
[34:47] for him?
[34:49] >> Uh, I feel like Steve doesn't need my
[34:51] advice. Uh, he's doing incredible. what
[34:55] he just needs to continue doing and he
[34:57] does it is appealing because you're
[34:59] never going to win as a Republican in
[35:01] California. But what he's running is
[35:03] common sense. And the message is, you
[35:06] know, for the people that are like, I'm
[35:07] voting for Basara B. What does what does
[35:10] Biden call him? Back. I think we say
[35:12] Bas. We're going to take Basura from
[35:14] Karen Bass and apply it.
[35:16] >> You know,
[35:17] >> these people think they're voting
[35:18] because he says, "I'm going to fight
[35:20] president." The president is gone in two
[35:22] years. So then what? You're just going
[35:23] to have another entrenched terrible
[35:26] person running the state. And don't
[35:28] worry, the whole entire state is run by
[35:31] Democrats. If there's one registered
[35:33] Republican, it's okay. So, I would say
[35:36] the message is Steve is about common
[35:39] sense and he just wants our tax money to
[35:42] stop being stolen and he wants kids
[35:45] being able to go back to parks. These
[35:47] aren't a Republican or a Democrat. It's
[35:50] just a non-communist message. So,
[35:53] >> you're you're going to stay with us for
[35:55] a bit. Steve, I know you got to run. Any
[35:56] last words? anything you want to say
[35:57] before you head out?
[35:58] >> I just want to tell um everyone that
[36:00] actually it's not just about stopping
[36:02] the crazy stuff that we've been talking
[36:04] about. There's a there's it's there's so
[36:07] much we can do in this amazing state.
[36:08] I've got a plan here uh that we're
[36:10] publishing today. 10 new cities for
[36:12] California. We've got so much
[36:15] opportunity here. If we just have some
[36:17] common sense, we get rid of these insane
[36:20] regulations and lawsuits and fees and
[36:22] taxes. The talent is here. The energy is
[36:25] here. We can once again be the place
[36:28] where people are coming to build amazing
[36:30] businesses and companies and houses and
[36:33] the great things we built in the heyday
[36:35] of California. We can be all that again
[36:38] and very very quickly because we've got
[36:40] everything we need to be truly
[36:42] magnificent again except a good
[36:44] governor, but very soon we'll have that
[36:46] as well. Thank you very much.
[36:50] >> Thanks for being here. Thank you.
[36:53] What's your favorite viral Spencer Pratt
[36:56] video? I know mine
[36:57] >> it's um we have the money is just being
[37:00] stolen.
[37:02] >> You remember that one?
[37:04] >> I do. I mean, what's I loved about
[37:06] running so much is it was finally a way
[37:09] to channel all of my anger and it was it
[37:12] was so therapeutic. It was just like
[37:15] this feels so good. Um but yeah, Steve's
[37:18] incredible. I pray for him. Uh I
[37:21] obviously everybody who I thought was a
[37:23] genius involved in my campaign
[37:26] connected these people. So he's got
[37:29] >> Spencer. What's going to happen in this
[37:30] election? Now
[37:32] >> if people vote, Steve wins, but people
[37:34] need to vote. It's like
[37:36] >> So you you think you think there's still
[37:37] an opportunity to vote in the state
[37:39] versus having the machine fill it out
[37:40] for me?
[37:41] >> Correct. I I is I'm a I'm so optimistic.
[37:46] Psyche. No, I mean uh you just got to be
[37:50] you got we got to try. People need to
[37:52] vote. And I don't think the the machine
[37:55] and the idea that we can't win should
[37:58] stop from trying. Yeah. Like if I had
[38:01] thought that way. I mean, I had my plan.
[38:03] I would 100% been the mayor. I didn't
[38:06] know they were going to pull what they
[38:08] pulled that soon. I thought they were
[38:09] going to wait till November. So, I had
[38:11] the plan to win, but I'm going to save
[38:14] it for my next election. So, you know
[38:17] >> what uh what what does that what does
[38:19] that mean exactly?
[38:21] >> Well, I mean behind offstage I can tell
[38:23] you you know I can't give the
[38:25] >> basically you you need a better vote
[38:27] stealing operation than they have.
[38:29] Right. I mean
[38:29] >> what I've learned is it's not stealing.
[38:31] It's legal. So my got my own harvesting
[38:35] they call it. Yeah.
[38:36] >> You know I got something up my sleeve.
[38:38] >> Well no no no in seriousness Spencer. Um
[38:41] he is being serious.
[38:42] >> I'm dead.
[38:43] >> Okay. So,
[38:45] um, you have legal recourse. Voter fraud
[38:48] is a very significant crime. People have
[38:52] been prosecuted very regularly for
[38:54] committing voter fraud. You're making
[38:57] these claims. Freeberg's making these
[38:58] claims. You're piling
[39:00] >> Hold on. What claims did I make?
[39:01] >> You just said if you can actually win or
[39:04] that somebody automatically signs it for
[39:05] you. You're insinuating that the system
[39:07] is corrupt. Let me
[39:08] >> claim you made that was a joke about the
[39:10] >> Okay, fine. But in our private chat, in
[39:13] our private chat, you say all the time,
[39:15] "No,
[39:15] >> I'll totally insinuate it. I'll assert
[39:17] it."
[39:18] >> Anyway, the point is
[39:19] >> the system is corrupt. It's
[39:20] statistically impossible. We all saw the
[39:22] lines
[39:23] >> here. Here, I'll hold Let me I know
[39:25] where this is going. Everyone says,
[39:26] "Well, why didn't you why didn't you
[39:28] investigate D?" So, obviously, I got the
[39:30] top law firms. I'm like, "Yeah, we're
[39:32] going to get them." And then you ready
[39:34] for this? The second those mailin
[39:36] ballots get to where they count the
[39:38] votes because they say, "Come down here.
[39:40] Check this out. The second they get
[39:41] there, you know what they do at the
[39:42] ballots? They separate them from the
[39:44] envelope. So, let's say I know 42,000 of
[39:47] these were cooked with the NGO, drug
[39:50] addicts, and the people that are paying
[39:51] them billions of dollars cuz they want
[39:53] that money to keep. I know it's all from
[39:55] there. Oh, well, we can't connect those
[39:57] ballots to those envelopes. We separated
[39:59] the chain of custody from those. So,
[40:01] >> the certification signature is on the
[40:02] envelope to be clear. It's like right
[40:05] there. So you so I know let's say I know
[40:07] this DSA terrorist commie person signed
[40:10] all these. I know that's this one. They
[40:13] go and this is where they're from. Oh,
[40:15] we don't have that person's signature to
[40:16] connect those ballots. So you can't I
[40:19] could have definitely said I want to
[40:21] recount.
[40:21] >> You can't audit is basically like
[40:23] >> and they would have recounted the same
[40:24] ballots. So I'm not alleging anything.
[40:27] This is just a fact in California.
[40:29] >> This is what I mean. I didn't get to ask
[40:32] my question because this is legal and
[40:33] the way it's set up legally is what
[40:35] makes it impossible to intervene unless
[40:38] you are willing to go play that game
[40:39] where you're now going to go collect all
[40:41] the ballots from the apartment buildings
[40:42] and fill them all out and get someone to
[40:44] put a happy smiley face on it and be
[40:45] like here you go. That's the mechanism
[40:47] that ultimately I think the other side
[40:49] is going to end up having to employ if
[40:51] they actually want to get people elected
[40:52] in a state that's 2/3 one side of the uh
[40:56] >> President Trump did 60 of these lawsuits
[40:59] when he lost last time and claim the
[41:01] same thing. All 60 he lost. You're not
[41:04] even willing to do a lawsuit. But is
[41:06] your contention that you lost because of
[41:08] fraud? Yes or no?
[41:11] >> It's a trick question.
[41:13] >> Well, no. It's a simple question.
[41:15] That's it's a trick question. I without
[41:18] evidence I would say no.
[41:21] >> Okay.
[41:22] >> So
[41:22] >> So but he can't the thing is he can't
[41:24] collect on it.
[41:25] >> So if I had the evidence I would tell
[41:27] you I would be the mayor right now.
[41:30] >> Okay. So
[41:30] >> well what I would say what I would say
[41:32] is that on election night you were the
[41:34] clear number two and then a week later
[41:37] you had been narrowly displaced by a
[41:38] bunch of ballots that were counted out.
[41:40] >> Yeah. the it seems like there would have
[41:42] to be in this case, correct me if I'm
[41:44] wrong, tens of thousands of fake
[41:45] ballots.
[41:46] >> No, I'm not saying fake. This is what
[41:48] this is. Again,
[41:49] >> it's not fraud, Jason. It's that they're
[41:51] following the law that was created to
[41:53] let them do what they're doing. It's
[41:55] legal.
[41:56] >> Why is voter ID illegal?
[41:58] >> All right, so watch this. Watch this.
[41:59] Watch this.
[41:59] >> I'm in favor of voter ID. Be clear, but
[42:01] you still haven't explained where the
[42:03] crime occurred here.
[42:04] >> Watch this. The crime harvest. Go ahead.
[42:08] >> Ready for this? I'm awake now.
[42:10] >> All right, here we go. So, if I go up to
[42:13] you when you go to like a basketball
[42:15] court to vote, you know, with the nice
[42:17] people and they say in California, they
[42:18] say, "Don't show us your ID. You, that's
[42:20] illegal." Those people, if I go up to
[42:23] you and I'm wearing like Mayor Pratt hat
[42:26] and I say, "Who's on your ballot? You
[42:28] This is why you should vote for Spencer
[42:29] Pratt." This is electioneering. This is
[42:32] illegal. But it's not illegal for DSA
[42:36] commies to ride around on their bikes
[42:38] and to go into your apartment building,
[42:40] knock on your door, say, "Hey, this is
[42:43] your ballot. You got to vote for Nitia
[42:45] Ramen. She's going to make everything
[42:47] cheap, give you free money, a cell
[42:49] phone, she's going to pay for your
[42:50] Netflix, all these things. Fill it out.
[42:53] We'll take it in." This is would be
[42:55] illegal at the gym, but it's not in
[42:58] California with ballot harvesting. So
[43:00] what these DSA soldiers, these are sold,
[43:03] these are true believers do, they do it
[43:06] in New York, they're doing it all over
[43:07] the they go around, thousands of them,
[43:10] and they go get these ballots. So
[43:11] they're not fake ballots, it's ballot
[43:14] harvesting, and they can people pay
[43:17] these people. I did legal ballot
[43:19] harvesting.
[43:19] >> You just can't pay them per ballot. And
[43:21] this became law legal in California. How
[43:23] many years ago? Like a decade ago?
[43:24] >> Now the claim is ago, so I understand. I
[43:26] just want to make sure I understand the
[43:27] claim. claim now is that DSA soldiers
[43:31] went gave money to people and convinced
[43:34] them to place their vote and then
[43:35] brought their undocumented. They're not
[43:37] giving anyone.
[43:38] >> Can you let him answer freeberg?
[43:39] >> The DSA operatives are being paid.
[43:42] >> Got it.
[43:43] >> And some do it as for free cuz they are
[43:45] true believers.
[43:46] >> Like people who knock on doors and say
[43:48] >> so my campaign legal door knockers pay a
[43:52] half a million dollars. They knock and
[43:53] they say Spencer's so great. And they
[43:55] say no, I don't want to vote. and the
[43:56] door shuts and they walk away. These
[43:58] people continue. They you go on the the
[44:01] DSA website, they'll tell you a whole
[44:04] there'll be a whole breakdown on ballot
[44:05] harvesting and they'll say go back three
[44:07] times. It becomes harassment. Finally,
[44:10] somebody's going to be like here. Yeah,
[44:11] take this. Get out of my
[44:13] >> So now the claim is the DSA is
[44:15] persistent and you weren't. You go one
[44:18] time, they go three. Just so I'm clear.
[44:20] >> No, what I'm saying it's illegal to
[44:22] harass people into who they vote. That's
[44:24] illegal. What the DSA?
[44:26] >> Has any of those people ever filed a
[44:28] complaint about being harassed?
[44:30] >> Do you know where they're going?
[44:32] >> These people don't You can't
[44:34] >> I'm asking you. You're the one making
[44:35] this claim that you lost because of
[44:36] fraud.
[44:37] >> No, I also didn't. I said I don't have
[44:39] the evidence.
[44:39] >> You literally tweeted that the fraudster
[44:41] stole the election from me.
[44:42] >> I said, "No, I said 200,000 Republicans
[44:45] didn't show up and vote."
[44:46] >> Okay, so that's why you lost.
[44:48] >> There's many reasons to not win and lose
[44:51] and games also.
[44:53] Do you think Do you think that the other
[44:54] side that Republicans are going to start
[44:55] to employ the ballot harvesting tactics?
[44:58] >> It won't work. I did it. Unless you are
[45:01] nefarious, it doesn't work.
[45:04] >> Mhm.
[45:04] >> If you are just like a genuine like
[45:06] hello knock like you like to vote like
[45:10] that doesn't work these people. So tell
[45:13] me this talk about claims.
[45:15] >> Why won't California clear their voter
[45:17] roles?
[45:20] >> What does that mean? just a different
[45:21] right now. The voter roles, if you moved
[45:23] out of California, if you're dead, these
[45:27] are all ballots.
[45:28] >> There's an empty parking lot downtown LA
[45:30] that gets hundreds of ballots mailed to
[45:32] it. An empty parking lot and people have
[45:34] registered to this address. Hundreds of
[45:35] ballots show up there.
[45:36] >> So, back to your thing, these are fake
[45:38] ballots. They're not fake ballots. There
[45:40] could be potentially a million ballots
[45:42] out and about that now a DSA person
[45:45] could harvest get these ballots, fill in
[45:48] a circle, and then do a smiley face as
[45:50] the witness and mail that in. So we can
[45:54] call it a claim or we could call it who
[45:56] knows. It's like who knows what's going
[45:59] on. The point is we need voter ID.
[46:01] People need to get that on the ballot.
[46:03] So
[46:04] >> yeah. Yeah. No, I mean you're the person
[46:05] who made these claims, so I'm just
[46:06] asking you the questions. And and for
[46:08] the record, I I think if Hold on, let me
[46:10] finish. Stop interrupting me. For the
[46:12] record, I I think if you have to show an
[46:15] ID to get on a plane, it's quite
[46:16] reasonable that you should show one to
[46:18] vote. So, I I'm I'm for a voter, but
[46:20] >> you also need an ID.
[46:22] >> You also need an ID to shop at Kami Mom
[46:25] Dami's new markets. So, if you want if
[46:28] you want food, you need an ID.
[46:30] >> What are you doing next? Let's move on
[46:32] past.
[46:33] >> This is it. I This is the the
[46:35] >> You're joining the show. fifth bestie.
[46:37] Uh, you know, I have Zoom. You know, so
[46:40] >> you have Zoom and you have time.
[46:42] >> I do love premium tequila. Uh, you know,
[46:45] >> this could work. This could work. Fifth
[46:47] bestie.
[46:48] >> There's a lot of
[46:49] >> I mean, Brad Gerser is very popular, but
[46:52] I think you have a he we might need to
[46:55] move him to sixth bestie. what uh I will
[46:57] continue doing because I only ever ran
[46:59] for mayor to increase my message of
[47:03] fighting these people who have destroyed
[47:05] my beautiful state, my beautiful city
[47:07] and then
[47:08] >> and your home.
[47:09] >> My home, my parents' home, all my
[47:11] neighbors. So,
[47:12] >> let me ask you a question about the
[47:13] incompetence of these idiots. You they
[47:16] burn your home down because they can't
[47:17] keep water in the reservoir and then
[47:20] have you been able to rebuild? What's
[47:22] the state of the palisades right now?
[47:24] So, here's the best part. That empty
[47:26] reservoir is still empty. And the
[47:28] reservoir across the street from my
[47:30] house that I was convinced I was house
[47:32] was never going to burn. The one they
[47:33] didn't even talk about, that one's still
[47:35] empty. They have a hose. I just posted a
[47:37] video about this. They have a hose that
[47:39] comes all the way from Tanga through all
[47:41] the regrown dead brush. This is the hose
[47:44] now supplying the Palisades. But back to
[47:46] rebuilding. What happened is we all had
[47:49] farmers and all these great insurance,
[47:51] but and I don't blame the insurance
[47:53] companies because it's our Gavin Newsome
[47:56] in our state parks that allowed the 60
[47:58] years of dead fuels, dead brush to
[48:02] surround our communities knowing that
[48:05] there's no fire break. All they would
[48:07] have had to do I talked to the top guy
[48:09] that does all the cutting of this brush
[48:11] and and I said, "How much would this
[48:12] have cost to cut a whole fire break 300
[48:15] yards around the palace?" He said under
[48:17] $500,000 to save billions of dollars. So
[48:21] back to rebuilding insurance dropped
[48:23] everybody because they were smart. They
[48:25] saw all this dead brush into every it's
[48:28] illegal if I go cut. So if I'm my
[48:32] backyard has Gavin Newsome State Park
[48:34] dead brush coming into it. If I cut it,
[48:36] those are protected milk veetch.
[48:38] >> You're going to get a fine. I can the
[48:40] LWP got fined $1 million for cutting
[48:43] some dead brush around a downed pole in
[48:46] these state parks. So the carb who's in
[48:49] charge of this these people that care
[48:51] more about plants. They're also ruining
[48:53] the federal fire service right now and
[48:54] they're fighting literal the federal
[48:57] government right now to protect these
[48:59] plants again over people. So back to
[49:02] building. No, I won't be able to build
[49:04] build until we win the lawsuit against
[49:07] Gavin Newsome and his state parks and
[49:09] the city and the LWP, which we are.
[49:11] >> What What is the lawsuit that you filed?
[49:13] >> It's a mass tort. There's 10,000 victims
[49:16] for the negligence they let. So, but
[49:18] people don't realize because they're not
[49:20] in the weeds or we should we say in the
[49:22] milk veetch on this. Uh on New Year's
[49:26] Eve, there was a fire in the Pacific
[49:27] Palisades, 8 acres. They put it out. The
[49:31] state park did not monitor that fire,
[49:34] which is in their state park manual, and
[49:36] they let it smolder leading into a known
[49:39] wind event that was coming on January
[49:41] 6th, January 7. I've now had firefighter
[49:44] whistleblowers tell me that there was
[49:47] clearly smoldering coals on the side of
[49:49] this hill. And now in the depositions
[49:51] with the state park employees, we have
[49:53] their photos. They took photos of the
[49:55] hillside just smoking. And when asked,
[49:58] "Why didn't you do anything?" They say,
[49:59] "Oh, we're not firefighters." So, the
[50:02] state park is liable for allowing a
[50:05] dangerous condition to burn down the
[50:07] community. The LWP is liable for leaving
[50:11] the reservoirs empty and having no
[50:13] water. And the city is liable. So
[50:15] basically, you're just trying to set the
[50:16] record straight, hopefully get back some
[50:18] recompense for you and these other
[50:20] families, but is most of it this first
[50:22] part of just like make the record public
[50:24] of of all of this incompetence and the
[50:26] hope that people realize that it doesn't
[50:28] need to be this way.
[50:29] >> That was initially why I was out making
[50:31] my videos and doing the content to like
[50:34] help my community. And then when I saw
[50:36] Mayor Bass was just automatically going
[50:37] to be the mayor again. I was like, "Oh,
[50:39] no way." And then I called Rick Russo. I
[50:41] said, "Are you going to run or what?"
[50:42] He's like, "No." I was like, "Oh, it's
[50:44] on." So then I ran with the intention to
[50:47] just try to stop her from becoming mayor
[50:49] if that meant me being mayor. It
[50:51] honestly people are like, "Oh, you have
[50:52] no experience." Oh, to enforce the law.
[50:55] What LA needs is a mayor that enforces
[50:57] the law. Neither Mayor Bass nor Niti
[51:00] Ramen have any intention on enforcing
[51:02] the laws because it doesn't look good.
[51:05] It doesn't look good if you tell the
[51:07] illegal food vendors that they can't
[51:09] ruin a small business that's been paying
[51:12] taxes for 40 years. Oh, you're you're
[51:14] messing with this community, this
[51:16] atrisisk community. No, this is illegal.
[51:19] They're they're destroying this family's
[51:20] business. So, these simple things that I
[51:22] would have been able to do as mayor.
[51:24] That's unfortunate that it's going to
[51:25] take four years of pure destruction for
[51:28] them people to call me up in four years
[51:30] like, "Let's go and I'll be ready." Um,
[51:34] so you know,
[51:35] >> Spencer, are you are you still are you
[51:37] still doing content? Like what are you
[51:38] doing right now with your time?
[51:40] >> So there's three opportunities that you
[51:42] know are in play and yes I you know
[51:45] content what I realized when I got out
[51:47] of this is the media and this sounds
[51:50] very pot
[51:53] lies like there's so many lies that I
[51:56] witnessed all day long firsthand in my
[51:58] city that I was like I need to be out
[52:00] here making content with the truth. It's
[52:02] not it's not a it's in the center. I
[52:04] keep saying people like, "Oh, he's a
[52:05] Republican." No, the truth doesn't have
[52:07] a side. It's that it's that that simple.
[52:10] And these people across the country now
[52:12] are trying to destroy it. They truly
[52:14] are. And when you start living this all
[52:16] day long, like me, it's not for LA now.
[52:18] And I'm like, damn, I got to fight for
[52:20] America. Like, I'm like Jason Bourne.
[52:22] This is crazy. So, yeah. No, I you know,
[52:25] now I'm flying to New York and meeting
[52:27] with people in New York, trying to help
[52:29] them because I don't want New York to go
[52:31] down even worse than
[52:33] >> I have a suggestion for you.
[52:34] >> So, what were the other two things? You
[52:35] said there was three things. Is that
[52:36] that all three?
[52:37] >> No, there there's three plays. I see,
[52:39] you know, but I mean, I was going to be
[52:41] the big guy in AI as mayor because I was
[52:44] going to turn Skid Row into all just
[52:46] data centers. So,
[52:48] >> I mean, you're weaving, you're speaking
[52:50] our language. I had a I actually had a
[52:52] call trying to like get the information
[52:54] about data centers with a guy that knows
[52:57] data centers. He said and he said,
[52:58] "Spencer, do you understand this is the
[53:01] time for like a city like LA whose
[53:03] infrastructure is collapsing into the
[53:06] ground to take private business and
[53:08] billions of dollars be like, "Hey, yes,
[53:10] you can put this data center where we
[53:12] have naked drug addict zombies and no
[53:14] actual human being can go for 50 blocks.
[53:17] We're going to put that here. But you
[53:18] need to redo our water pipes. You need
[53:20] to redo our
[53:22] >> We can retrain the fentinel addicts to
[53:23] be electricians. Meta's got a program
[53:25] for that.
[53:27] >> You know, as I drove over here, I
[53:29] >> solved two problems at once.
[53:31] >> You know, there's a I was going to solve
[53:33] a lot of problems. So that's
[53:34] >> But Spencer, in all seriousness,
[53:36] >> you're incredibly quickwitted and
[53:38] entertaining on camera. You should
[53:40] consider doing reality TV.
[53:42] You know, you know why I don't like
[53:44] reality TV and it's the only thing worse
[53:46] than people in politics is there's too
[53:49] much image crafting
[53:50] >> and that's what makes a bad reality
[53:52] shows. Now everyone is image crafting
[53:55] trying to create a persona. What's going
[53:57] to be in the comment section? What are
[53:59] people going to say on the blogs? You
[54:01] cannot be on real like the last reality
[54:04] show I was on when they rebooted the
[54:06] hills.
[54:06] >> You were on a reality show
[54:07] >> a couple. A couple you know you know I
[54:09] am the reality candidate. That's a
[54:12] reality check. But everybody was just
[54:14] faking their actual identity. And now
[54:17] what's so funny is if you watch any
[54:19] politician, they're just a bad Tik Tok
[54:22] influencer. Like you look at Abdul say,
[54:24] he thinks he's Alex Earl. It's like like
[54:27] what are you what?
[54:28] >> Honestly, I just got to tell you, I love
[54:30] you. And
[54:32] what a mistake because not only would
[54:35] you have gotten some great done, this
[54:37] would have been the most entertaining
[54:39] mayorship in history.
[54:41] >> Well, he's got time.
[54:43] >> Yeah, you got to run again.
[54:45] >> This is Yeah, I know. I What's funny is
[54:48] I actually am way more of a threat to
[54:51] these people now because I have
[54:52] >> You're dangerous.
[54:53] >> Two years to really get into these comm.
[54:56] >> I suggest you torture them. tortured
[54:58] Karen Bass for the next two years.
[55:00] >> You know, Karen Bass is not our worst
[55:02] nightmare. And I will never say anything
[55:04] positive. Nitia Ramen and the DSA people
[55:07] like people do not get my Democrat
[55:10] friends do not understand what the DSA
[55:12] is. I keep telling them go on their
[55:13] website. It's not a conspiracy. Read
[55:16] their website and you tell me
[55:17] >> abolish the police. Yes.
[55:19] >> I mean, the list goes on and on and this
[55:21] is what they stand by. And then I used
[55:23] to call them commies and every like oh
[55:25] you can't call them commi. Now I'm like,
[55:26] that sounds nice.
[55:28] >> It's a compliment to them. They're
[55:29] anarchists.
[55:30] >> Like gassing them up like
[55:33] crazy.
[55:34] >> Ladies and gentlemen, Spencer Pratt.
[55:38] Wow. Thanks, bro. All right. Great
[55:40] stuff.
