He called a political opponent a “dead rat.”
He bragged about putting a “political bullet” between an opponent’s forehead and making him “pee in his pants.”
He mocked rivals with nicknames like “Humpty Dumpty” and dismissed one as a “walking zombie corpse.”
He once summed up his political philosophy as “loyalty, loyalty, and screw the opposition.”
You wouldn’t be crazy to think this was Donald Trump. But it’s not. It’s Michael Trujillo, Los Angeles’ own poster child for Trumpian campaign politics, and he has just joined Traci Park’s reelection campaign as her new campaign manager.
Those are not paraphrases. They are Trujillo’s actual words, drawn from a long public record of insult driven, dehumanizing rhetoric that mirrors Trump almost perfectly. Long before Trump normalized humiliation, nicknames, and violent metaphor as political strategy, Trujillo was deploying the same tactics in Los Angeles.
The most infamous example came during Councilmember Jose Huizar’s 2011 reelection campaign, when Trujillo sent a mass email boasting that the campaign would put a “political bullet” between his opponent’s forehead and referring to him as a “dead rat.” Huizar, who is now serving a 13 year federal prison sentence, fired him immediately. The email landed just weeks after the Gabrielle Giffords shooting and retraumatized an opponent whose brother had previously been murdered. The episode became a defining moment in local politics, not because it was an aberration, but because it revealed a style that would follow Trujillo for the rest of his career.
That style did not end Trujillo’s career. It defined it.
Over the years, Trujillo has built a reputation as one of the most aggressive political operatives in Los Angeles, repeatedly relying on ridicule, intimidation, and escalation when campaigns face pressure. Journalists and fellow consultants have described his approach as black ops politics, marked by opposition research leaks, personal attacks, and rhetoric so inflammatory that it often becomes the story itself.
The Huizar incident was not isolated. During Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2005 mayoral campaign, Trujillo anonymously posted attacks against incumbent Mayor James Hahn under a false name after reporters declined to publish negative stories. If traditional media would not carry the attack, Trujillo found another channel. The tactic is now familiar in national politics. At the time, it was a warning sign.
Trujillo’s use of nicknames and taunts continued well into the 2020s. While consulting for Joe Buscaino’s 2022 mayoral campaign, he publicly mocked Rick Caruso as “Humpty Dumpty” and a “walking zombie corpse.” The insults generated attention but did nothing to rescue a campaign that ultimately collapsed before the primary.
His campaigns have also been marked by repeated failures despite establishment backing. Trujillo managed the 2009 Measure B solar initiative, which was heavily funded and widely endorsed. He publicly vowed to quit politics if it failed. It lost decisively. He did not quit politics. As campaign manager for Wendy Greuel’s 2014 congressional race, he oversaw another collapse, with Greuel failing to make the runoff despite significant fundraising and institutional support.
Throughout his career, Trujillo has been explicit about his worldview. He has described his guiding rules as “loyalty, loyalty, and screw the opposition,” rejecting ethical gray areas and treating campaigns as permanent combat. The goal is not persuasion. It is domination.
Which brings the story back to Traci Park.
Park enters her reelection cycle facing sustained backlash for blocking affordable housing, opposing tenant protections, backing sweeps and enforcement over housing solutions, embracing climate denial rhetoric in the wake of the Palisades fire, and aligning consistently with police unions and corporate donors. These are not misunderstandings or messaging errors. They are the consequences of her record.
Hiring Michael Trujillo suggests Park is not attempting to broaden her coalition or address those concerns. She is preparing to fight. Trujillo is not brought in to explain a record or rebuild trust. He is brought in to attack critics, change the subject, and overwhelm opposition through conflict.
At a moment when Los Angeles should be rejecting the politics of insult and intimidation, Park has chosen to import them into a local race. Campaign managers reveal strategy, and by choosing the city’s most recognizable practitioner of Trumpian campaign politics, Traci Park is signaling that her reelection effort will be built not on accountability or persuasion, but on escalation
