US President Donald Trump and world’s richest man Elon Musk sang to the same dishonest tune once again on Monday to allege—without evidence—that the mayoral election in Los Angeles was somehow fraudulent or rigged against Republicans after their preferred candidate, former reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, dropped to third place in the open primary.
With incumbent Democratic Mayor Karen Bass already sitting in first place, it was progressive City Council Member Nithya Raman who overtook Pratt on Sunday after more votes were counted. The top two finishers in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, will face off in a runoff election, but it was Pratt’s slip out of the second slot—with approximately 80% of ballots now counted—that inspired Trump and Musk to call into question the results.
“No way this could have happened. Rigged Election!” Trump declared in a social media post on Sunday night. The president infamously refused to admit he was defeated by former President Joe Biden in 2020, a denial that ultimately led to the insurrection attempt by his supporters on January 6, 2021.
The election results in Los Angeles, however, are very much in line with polling that took place ahead of last week’s vote and Los Angeles is known as a Democratic-leaning city.
In a series of retweets and comments on X, the social media behemoth he owns, Musk echoed Trump by suggesting that the mayoral race was fraudulent, though he offered no substantive evidence.
“It takes a conspiracy theorist to believe California’s election is secure,” stated one post Musk shared to the more than 240 million accounts that follow his.
As Raman climbed out of second place into third as Pratt’s share of the vote total dropped, Musk perpetuated the idea that the counting of ballots indicated fraud of some kind and stood on that insinuation to advocate for the Republican-backed SAVE Act, which voting rights experts have warned is a key part of a coordinated GOP effort to make it harder for Americans to vote in upcoming elections.
Trump stormed out of his weekend interview with NBC New’s Kristen Welker on “Meet The Press” after the host challenged Trump over his repeated lies that the 2020 election was rigged, and his new unfounded claims that something similar was now happening in California.
WOW – Trump crashes out and cuts his interview with Welker short as she presses him on his lack of evidence for claiming elections are rigged
“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid. Let’s call it quits. Because I’ve had enough. Thank you darling,” he tells her."
"I traveled… pic.twitter.com/qQaNIDnX4y
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 7, 2026
Trump claimed that because the results had not been officially decided after four days in California, the nation’s largest state with millions who vote by mail, that “They’re cheating on the election.”
“Do you have evidence to support that?” Welker asked.
“All I have to do is look, and I listen,” the president replied.
“But that’s not evidence,” Welker countered.
The progressive advocacy group Our Revolution, which backed Raman in the election, said in a social media post that a second-place showing in the race would be in keeping with the city’s political profile.
“No way Los Angeles was ever going to send a MAGA reality star with zero governing experience to a general election for mayor. Not this city,” the group said. “Nithya Raman advances. Now let’s have the conversation LA actually deserves—housing, affordability, and a real vision for this city’s future.”
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