Spencer Pratt<\/strong><\/a> has dealt with his fair share of haters long before he decided to run for mayor of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say the only edge that reality TV and fame has given me is just to prepare for the amount of negativity and threats,\u201d Pratt, 42, exclusively reveals in his Us Weekly<\/em> cover story, on newsstands now. \u201cNo normal person would want to fight this demonic machine of evil that wants people to die on the street [and] doesn\u2019t care about our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hills<\/em><\/a> alum continues, \u201cYou have to be a crazy person to do this as just a functioning normal, experienced human being. There\u2019s no way it\u2019s worth it, but if you\u2019ve already been in the gutter with the internet, [it\u2019s] just another day.\u201d<\/p>\n Pratt rose to fame in the early 2000s while starring on The Hills<\/em> alongside wife Heidi Montag<\/strong>. The couple wed in 2008 during season 5 of the hit MTV series and share sons, Gunner, 8, and Ryker, 3.<\/p>\n \u201cLife\u2019s all about learning. I met my wife on reality TV, [got] my two kids, for that alone I wouldn\u2019t change anything,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI was 21, 22, 23 and to me it was all make believe, and I didn\u2019t take it [seriously.]\u201d<\/p>\n While the world knows Pratt as an iconic reality TV villain, he\u2019s looking to change the narrative. Earlier this year, Pratt announced that he was running for mayor<\/a> after he and his family were one of the many who lost their homes in the wildfires last year.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know when I announced in front of those 1000s of fire victims, everyone cheered so much that I kicked off with a new path of being taken seriously, because at least my community had known I had been fighting for them for so many months, and they knew I was dead serious about it,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cAnd for them it was not like a gimmick or a stunt, or so \u2014 just the initial launch of my campaign, energetically I already was fighting on behalf of my community.\u201d<\/p>\n Pratt shares that he knew there are so many people \u201ccounting on\u201d him so he decided to put in the work to make a viable campaign. Pratt\u2019s work has seemingly paid off as he\u2019s been emerging in the polls against current L.A. mayor Karen Bass<\/strong> and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was always very serious from the second I announced, at least for my community,\u201d he says, \u201cObviously, the months have gone by, and I go to all of these other communities and meet with the community leaders. They all have that hope, and they just [have] so much faith in me.\u201d<\/p>\n Pratt also shares that he \u201cnever\u201d bases his success around what\u2019s happening online. Instead, he prefers to hear directly from the people he interacts with in real-life.<\/p>\n \u201cI never go off the internet, you know, it doesn\u2019t matter if I have all these viral videos or how famous or infamous I seem on the internet, that doesn\u2019t mean anything,\u201d he explains. \u201cBut what I feel from people in the streets around LA, and everywhere I go, that energy is what continues to just show me how you know how much support and how much people want me to be the mayor. The internet\u2019s great, and I love it, and it\u2019s a great tool for social media, but the interactions I have with people are what continue to drive me.\u201d<\/p>\n Pratt\u2019s campaign has garnered the attention<\/a> of people across the country, including President<\/a> Donald Trump<\/strong>. However, Pratt has made it clear he\u2019s not running as a Republican<\/a>. (The race for mayor in Los Angeles is nonpartisan and no candidate\u2019s party is listed on the ballot.)<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m running for all of Los Angeles,\u201d he tells Us<\/em>. \u201cI\u2019m not either party, I\u2019m a centrist, I am complete, my brand, my party is common sense American.\u201d<\/p>\n
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