On July 8, 2026, a photo of former Los Angeles mayoral candidate and reality television star Spencer Pratt alongside the Declaration of Independence spread online. Several posts claimed Pratt made a post saying the Declaration of Independence states: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal except for communists."
Snopes readers searched our website for evidence that Pratt really said the Declaration of Independence said "all men are created equal except for communists." Many Pratt supporters shared the quote and called it a "mic drop."
Pratt did indeed make the above post with that caption. We found the photograph and caption on his verified social media accounts. While the caption is real, it is likely that Pratt was just expressing his political opinions and does not actually believe the Declaration of Independence referenced communists. As such, we rate this as a correct attribution.
Pratt posted the photograph of himself alongside the Declaration of Independence on his Instagram (archived) and X (archived) accounts on July 8. He wrote: "If you look closely, it reads 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…except for communists.'"
On July 7, Pratt also posted a photograph of himself and his son apparently meeting U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, with the caption: "I will never stop fighting for my community." It is not clear when the meeting took place.
We cannot determine Pratt's actual intention behind the statement but it appears to be a joke expressing his political opinions as evidenced by the words "if you look closely." Pratt has frequently posted anti-communism (archived) and anti-socialism (archived) messages on his social media accounts. He accused the Democratic Socialists of America of aiming to "destroy" society and also called them "crazy" communists. We reached out to Pratt for comment and will update this report if he responds.
The term "communism" did not come into use until the 1840s. The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776.
A registered Republican, Pratt ran for Los Angeles mayor but came in third during the primary. Trump endorsed Pratt's candidacy and made the unfounded claim that the primary result was "rigged." Though Pratt conceded the race, he declared "war" and said he had damaging information on his opponent Nithya Raman and incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Snopes has previously debunked the false claim that thousands of mail-in ballots for Pratt during the mayoral primary were rejected for "signature irregularities."