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Dem mayor faces reality check after accusing rival of ‘exploiting’ Palisades Fire: ‘Absolute tone deafness’
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing backlash for her response to mayoral candidate and former reality television star Spencer Pratt, who has been attacking L.A. leaders over alleged mismanagement during the deadly Palisades Fire.
Bass accused Pratt of «exploiting» the tragedy, which he faced personally, to score political points. Pratt, however, pushed back and said he won community awards for his support of the Palisades community during the tragedy that resulted in both his and his families’ homes being burnt down. He said he also knew people who burned alive across the street from his childhood home.
«Honestly, before this, I had never heard of Spencer Pratt,» Bass told MeidasTouch as the former reality star’s anti-Bass ads about her mismanagement during the Palisades began gaining traction online. «The thing I am concerned and feel about him is that I feel like he’s exploiting the grief of people in the Palisades and I just think that’s just reprehensible. That’s the main thing and I think he is about his own celebrity — he’s famous now again.»
The questioner during the interview agreed with Bass throughout the talk, but did concede that the fires were something «top of mind» for California voters. Still, Bass was lauded by the questioner for her experience working in public office during such a major disaster, a tenure Pratt is targeting.
SPENCER PRATT ANNOUNCES LA MAYOR RUN ON ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PALISADES FIRE THAT DESTROYED HIS HOME
Mayor Karen Bass appeared to blame the fires and their destruction on climate change during the interview. (Getty )
«For a longtime politician, I am godsmacked by Karen Bass’ absolute tone deafness in attacking a survivor of the Palisades Fire in this way,» Roxanne Hoge, Chairwoman of the L.A. Republican Party, told Fox News Digital.
«All of Los Angeles is grieving the loss of our once-beautiful and prosperous City under Karen Bass’ and Nithya Raman’s leadership the last 4 years. To accuse Spencer Pratt — who lives in his burned-out lot in a trailer — of ‘exploiting grief’ is a new low,» Elizabeth Barcohana, an attorney and political strategist in Los Angeles, added. «It is only thanks to Pratt that we know why Bass was unprepared for the Palisades Fire, why [Gov. Gavin] Newsom chose to save plants instead of the people who burned alive that day, how the FireAid money disappeared into local NGO coffers instead of going to victims, and what our taxpayer funding that is supposed to be used to reduce homelessness is actually being spent on.»
«Mayor Bass calling Spencer Pratt’s campaign ‘reprehensible’ is the kind of tone-deaf political malpractice that explains exactly why Los Angeles is in crisis. Spencer Pratt lost his home. His parents lost their home. He watched his city burn while his mayor was on a plane to Ghana. That’s not exploitation, that’s lived experience, and it’s the most legitimate credential anyone could bring to this race,» former Trump campaign advisor Janiyah Thomas also told Fox News Digital. «Mayor Bass had the audacity to say she’d never heard of Spencer Pratt, but Angelenos have never forgotten that she cut the fire department’s budget and was absent when their homes were turning to ash.»
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Meanwhile, Bass said during the MeidasTouch interview that her experience leading the city’s response during the deadly Palisades Fire, in addition to her experience at the federal level in Congress, was exactly why she was a better candidate than Pratt, adding he could use a civics class to understand how government works.
But Bass faced heavy criticism during the fire for being absent, including taking a trip to Ghana as a historic windstorm swept the area ahead of the blaze, for not deploying proper pre-fire resources and enacting around $17.6 million cuts to the city’s fire department ahead of the tragedy.
Bass appeared to blame the fires and their destruction on climate change during the interview, while arguing her experience serving in public office during the disaster is why she should be re-elected.
DEMS BLAME LA FIRE ON ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ DESPITE CITY CUTTING FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGET
«These fires, it was the worst natural disaster that we experienced in our city — at the root of it, you know, we have to get adjusted to — just like everybody else in the nation — to different weather experiences that we’re not used to because of climate change,» Bass added during the discussion about Pratt and his attacks on her record. «We don’t know hurricanes — I’m born and raised in Los Angeles — to have hurricane-strength winds and actually no rain is odd anywhere but especially Los Angeles.»
Bass’ office referred Fox News Digital to the mayor’s campaign team, but they did not provide any response in time for publication.
A firefighter battles the Palisades Fire while it burns homes at Pacific Coast Highway amid a powerful windstorm on Jan. 8, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
«I’m not sure if Karen Bass forgot she let my house burn down and my parents house burn down and I had actual neighbors burn alive across the street from my childhood home,» Pratt responded on Fox News’ «The Will Cain Show» when asked about Bass’ criticism of him. «The only grief is my grief, my community’s grief that I initially started this fight on behalf of.»
«It’s the most insane, psycho, diabolical thing I’ve heard in a minute – but it’s not shocking,» Pratt added.
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«How the hell is Spencer Pratt ‘exploiting grief’?» Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Sen. John McCain, questioned in a post on X about Bass’ response. «He, his wife, children and parents lost their homes and everything in it in a fire because of Karen Bass and her failed policies.»
«Mayor Bass is in damage control. Bass calling this ‘exploitation’ tells you that she wants sympathy for herself and silence from the actual victims of the fires,» Corrin Rankin, California Republican Party chairwoman, told Fox News Digital. «Californians are tired of Democratic politicians who lack accountability and attack critics. When people lose everything, they have every right to demand answers from the people in charge that failed them.»
politics on late night, gavin newsom, fires disasters, la fires, homeless crisis
INTERNACIONAL
Progressive Dems’ full-throated Platner endorsements come back to haunt them after rape allegations
Bill McGurn discusses Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s mounting controversies
Fox News contributor Bill McGurn discusses Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s mounting controversies, including resurfaced Reddit posts, a Nazi symbol tattoo and sexually explicit messages. Democrats are now pushing Platner to exit the race following recent sexual assault allegations, raising questions about prior endorsements despite his problematic history.
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After Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was accused of drunkenly raping a woman, a litany of progressive Democrats are tucking tail and heading for the hills as their ringing endorsements of the continuously embattled candidate come back to haunt them.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at an April rally that Platner is, «My kind of man.»
She issued a statement Monday night after allegations emerged that Platner drunkenly raped 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot in 2021.
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
«Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,» Warren’s statement said.
«Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.»
WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE
A spokesperson for Warren did not answer specific questions about whether the senator regretted backing Platner, who has not dropped out of the race as of Tuesday morning, through his numerous prior scandals.
Progressives supported Platner despite a months-long series of damning scandals, including the revelation that the candidate had a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest. He was also exposed for infidelity to his wife, making lewd Reddit comments about masturbating in portable toilets on a now-deleted account and mocking a Purple Heart veteran.
He also faced accusations last month of physical misconduct and violence against an ex-girlfriend who was then smeared as a conservative political operative.
Ranking member Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Kevin Warsh, nominee to chairman of the Federal Reserve, during his Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has so far been silent on the rape allegations. In a June statement, he said he would «do everything I can to make sure that Graham Platner is the next Senator from the state of Maine.» That could now be put to the test.
The left-wing commentariat played a massive role in propping Platner up.
Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office for comment, but did not hear back at time of publishing.
TOP PLATNER ALLY TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS CAMPAIGN: ‘RED LINE’
Former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, who now host the «Pod Save America» podcast, were chief among those supporting Platner’s rise in the Democratic Party.
«Graham Platner isn’t just our best and only chance to beat Susan Collins, he’s a good, decent man who’s struggled and grown and is always trying to do better,» Favreau said on X in April, well after the Reddit post and Nazi tattoo scandals.
Favreau changed his tune Monday night.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
«Platner needs to drop out ASAP – these are awful, credible allegations,» he posted. «Said on the pod after the (also credible) June NYT story that his biggest problem going forward would be credibility. It’s now abundantly clear that he just hasn’t been honest about his past and can’t be trusted as a candidate for office.»
Vietor defended Platner after Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who is Jewish, condemned the candidate’s Nazi-linked tattoo and Reddit posts as «disqualifying» in May.
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«Have you called or met with him to discuss it?» Vietor asked Auchincloss on X.
Vietor had also interviewed Platner after those scandals.
But he, too, reversed course on Monday night.
«This story is really bad, well-documented and credible, and obviously the right course of action for Platner is to drop out as soon as possible so that Maine democrats can get a replacement on the ballot,» he said.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and guests Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett & Tommy Vietor during Monday’s January 20, 2025 show. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
Pfeiffer followed suit.
«The allegations against Graham Platner are well-documented, very credible, and highly disturbing. He should drop out ASAP,» he said, on X.
Lovett didn’t make a statement, but posted a clip of Monday’s episode of «Pod Save America,» where despite his apology, Vietor jumped straight back to politics and remarked that he was, «very worried now about the prospect of winning this seat» but said the Democratic Party, «could ultimately be in a stronger place politically.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Crooked Media, the parent company of «Pod Save America,» but did not hear back.
PLATNER’S LATEST ACCUSER CLAIMS THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE ‘ABSOLUTELY’ RAPED HER
Some not only failed to condemn Platner, but instead took offensive positions.
«Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,» author Stephen King wrote on X, referring to allegations against President Donald Trump over the years.
King followed-up with another post claiming everyone in politics in Washington, D.C. is corrupt.
«Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.’»
Cenk Uygur, Founder and CEO of TYT attends The Young Turks (TYT) 20th Anniversary Celebration at YouTube Space LA on May 25, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Anna Webber/Getty Images for TYT)
Far-left media personality Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks spent much of Monday blaming everyone but Platner for the scandal, including the media and the «Israeli lobby.»
«Congratulations to national media on politically assassinating Graham Platner,» he said in one post. «If he drops out and Democratic Party tries to give us two candidates who are both for Israel and corporate pacs [sic], they’ll face a revolt like they’ve never seen. Days of bull—- false choices are over.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Uygur.
Ryan Grim, formerly of The Intercept, spent ages defending Platner online.
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«Democrats need people like Platner if they are going to come to terms with the true nature of our country, with what we have done to people at home and abroad, and pull together the coalition needed to heal and reshape it,» he said in a June post regarding an opinion piece that promoted Platner.
He reported on X Monday night that Platner «lost his base,» but did not address the rape allegations or his support for the candidate directly.
Grim did not return a Fox News Digital comment request.
Others prominent Democrats who abandoned the Platner ship include Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.
graham platner, politics, chuck schumer, elizabeth warren, bernie sanders, campaigning
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INTERNACIONAL
Video shows bomb rock Damascus hotel where French President Macron is staying during Syrian state visit
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A pair of explosions rocked the Syrian capital of Damascus near the downtown Four Seasons hotel, where French President Emmanuel Macron was staying during a state visit, Syrian state media reported Tuesday.
Eighteen people, including four police officers, were injured by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on Tuesday, Syria’s interior ministry reported through state outlet SANA.
According to the ministry, both bombs exploded after security forces had discovered them, «while preparations for the disposal operation were underway.»
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The bombs were placed inside a car and a garbage can near the hotel where Macron was staying during his visit, the first Syrian state visit by the leader of a Western country since Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa took over for the now-deposed former President Bashar al-Assad in 2025.
A spokesman for Élysée Palace said Macron was not in his hotel during the explosions and didn’t even hear them. He continued his visit with al-Sharaa, according to both Élysée Palace and SANA.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the People’s Palace in Damascus, July 7, 2026. (Reuters/Mahmoud Hassano)
While not commenting on the explosions directly, Macron posted a statement on X shortly after the incident.
ISRAEL FORTIFIES BORDER WITH JORDAN AS IRAN SEEKS NEW TERROR PATH
«Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic, and united Syria. This morning I met Syria in all its diversity. I saw dignity, courage, and determination. My visit continues,» he wrote.
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa greets supporters after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., NOV. 10, 2025. (Lubna Allababidi/Handout via Reuters)
Syria’s Ministry of the Interior confirmed the explosions but stressed that they were outside the security perimeter designated for Macron.
«We confirm that the explosion site is outside the security perimeter designated for the French president’s residence. It posed no direct threat to the residence or the official visit program, which is proceeding as planned,» the ministry announced through SANA.
‘PARCEL BOMB’ EXPLODES IN MONACO RESIDENTIAL AREA, LEAVING 2 CRITICALLY INJURED: REPORTS
An ambulance drives past the site where explosive devices blew up near a hotel where French President Emmanuel Macron was meant to be staying, in Damascus, Syria, July 7, 2026. (Reuters/Yamam Al Shaar)
Macron is the first Western leader to meet with al-Sharaa in Damascus since he became the country’s president in 2025. Some have criticized Western leaders, including President Donald Trump, who hosted al-Sharaa in the White House in November, for normalizing relations with al-Sharaa given his past as a fighter for the al Qaeda terrorist group.
Tuesday’s explosions in Damascus were also the second and third major blasts in Damascus in less than a week.
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On Monday, France’s government condemned what it called a «terrorist attack» after an explosive device killed at least nine people in a Damascus cafe on July 2.
Syrian authorities are still investigating the attack and have not publicly ascribed it to any group or individual, according to The Washington Post.
Fox News Digital contacted the Syrian Foreign Ministry and Élysée Palace for confirmation and further details.
emmanuel macron, syria, world, bombings, terrorism
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