Spencer Pratt may have flamed out in his bid to be L.A. Mayor, but the reality TV enfant terrible has seemingly found a new calling \u2014 saving Hollywood with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Just days after the deeply unpopular former Apprentice host swooped into Southern California for a behind-closed-doors RNC fundraiser, The Hills alum revealed online that he sat down with Trump to discuss a 25% federal tax credit for the admittedly ailing film and TV industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with the President on a 25% FEDERAL film tax credit to bring back Hollywood,\u201d wrote Pratt with an accompanying pic with Trump at the MAGA boss\u2019 Trump National Golf\u00a0Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, California\u00a0on August 4.<\/p>\n
Just days after the deeply unpopular former Apprentice host swooped into Southern California for a behind-closed-doors RNC fundraiser, The Hills alum revealed online that he sat down with Trump to discuss a 25% federal tax credit for the admittedly ailing film and TV industry.<\/p>\n
In and around Trump\u2019s orbit since he was beaten out of a runoff spot in the L.A. mayoral campaign by incumbent Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman earlier this summer, Pratt offered few details of what he and Trump could be cooking up. The former City Hall contender didn\u2019t respond to a comment for more info Deadline left on his IG post. Also, to that, the White House did not respond to a request from Deadline today on the conversation the two men had and the apparent resurrection of a stalled federal incentives package.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Trump Celebrity Supporters: Famous Folks In Favor Of The 47th President<\/p>\n
As he has so often in the past since stepping into the political arena what ex-Palisades resident Pratt (who lost his and Heidi Montag\u2019s home in the horrific fires of early 2025) did do was sh*t on everyone else (including Canada) and lather up the easily flattered POTUS.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Gavin Newsom\u2019s commissioner is actively outsourcing production jobs to Hungary, and his rogue AG is trying to destroy CA production companies, the adults in the room are actually trying to repatriate the most quintessential American industry,\u201d Pratt said on IG and X with swipes at California\u2019s $750 million incentives program and Golden State Attorney General Rob Bonta\u2019s antitrust lawsuit against the Paramount-WBD merger. \u201cI\u2019m committed to saving Hollywood, and I\u2019m very grateful for the President\u2019s remarkable generosity and focus on this issue. He is very passionate about revitalizing the entertainment industry and we will not let Canada, or the UK or Budapest steal our lunch anymore. Speaking of lunch\u2026best clam chowder I ever had. We discussed several other very important topics, as well. I\u2019m humbled and grateful for all the time and discussion from the President. Unlike many other cynical doomers out there, he refuses to write off California.\u201d<\/p>\n
Okay. Lots to unpack there, and not just the chowder obviously.<\/p>\n
On one aspect of all that, Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s crew had this to say when informed of Pratt\u2019s post and that 25% federal tax credit for Tinseltown: \u201cYou mean Gavin Newsom\u2019s idea from last year? Go, Spencer, go!\u201d<\/p>\n
In fact, possible 2028 White House contender Newsom is far from the only one long advocating for a federal tax credit for the entertainment industry since past Emmy nominee Trump\u2019s return to power. Trump\u2019s sworn foe Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is on board for such a program, as are SAG-AFTRA, the DGA, the WGA, studio execs and industry lobby groups.<\/p>\n
Also pushing for an incentive up around 10-20% is Enemy of the State star and MAGA cheerleader Jon Voight.<\/p>\n
One of Trump\u2019s trifecta of Ambassadors to Hollywood, Voight and some producer pals submitted a tax incentive-heavy Make Hollywood Great Again to the White House in May 2025. Even as Trump raged, as he has on numerous occasions since, for a baffling 100% tariff on movies made outside the USA, a Voight-led letter to POTUS in May 2025 praised him for \u201cthe support you have shown the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
To give a sense of the support the industry needs, jobs and production has hit bleak levels in the home of Hollywood. The pandemic, the end of the Peak TV era, the 2023 strikes, consolidation and corporate debt, high costs and changing consumer habits has seen the L.A. region lose swaths of projects to the likes of the UK, Canada and several other incentive-offering states. That loss has translated into over 40,000 industry jobs gone, vendors boarding up their storefronts and an exodus of below and above-the-line talent from the high cost of living in the City of Angels.<\/p>\n
In that urgent context, the missive from Voight, the guilds, and others last year also said: \u201cWe also appreciate your understanding of the need to increase domestic film and television production to bring back American jobs and write seeking your support for the inclusion of three film and television priorities in the reconciliation package currently being drafted in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n