Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman appeared to fake having amnesia after she got trounced in a debate Tuesday against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass.
Immediately after the debate concluded, Raman was asked by a television reporter to name her strongest moment and weakest moment from the hour-long, televised debate.
Instead of doing exactly that, she trotted out a strange excuse.
“Oh, you know, to be honest with you, I’m so sorry, but I was in fugue state and I don’t remember very much of it at all,” she told KNBC-TV reporter Robert Kovacik while laughing ghoulishly.
Nithya Raman says she “was in fugue state” during debate against LA Mayor Karen Bass https://t.co/SQFeKoXaVh https://t.co/5Afv1ZT9Ha
— California Post (@californiapost) October 14, 2026
Raman appeared to be misusing the term “fugue” to describe amnesia.
Do you think Nithya Raman’s ‘fugue state’ claim was a legitimate excuse after the debate?
According to an American Psychological Association dictionary, fugue specifically refers to an instance in which someone “suddenly and unexpectedly travels away from home or a customary place of daily activities and is unable to recall some or all of their past.”
“Symptoms also include either confusion about personal identity or assumption of a new identity,” the dictionary definition continues. “No other signs of mental disorder are present, and the fugue state can last from hours to months.”
All this suggests that Raman suffered from amnesia at worst. Few online news sources list any other candidate in American history who has ever cited amnesia after losing a political debate.
The closest example was when then-GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry suffered a “brain freeze” and “lapse of memory” while answering a debate question in 2012:
2011: Rick Perry forgets the third federal department he was promising to eliminate.
Perry had already dropped steeply in polls after prior poor debate performances. The “oops” moment seemed to prove he lacked preparation and is regarded as his campaign’s death knell. https://t.co/LP6Uzk2kGt
— The Recount (@therecount) August 23, 2023
Critics believe the reason Raman trotted out the “fugue” or amnesia excuse was that, according to several Los Angeles Times columnists who actually watched the hour-long battle, she got entirely decimated in the debate.
“The mayor won the debate, if we’re judging by forensics,” one columnist, Gustavo Arellano, said. “She rarely looked down at her notepad, unlike Raman.”
“It’s something I’ve never noticed about Raman before — either a new nervous tic, or an indication that the city councilmember can’t seem to speak with conviction, which has been a frequent critique against her,” Arellano added.
Columnist Steve Lopez agreed.
“This debate could have been a knockout punch for Raman, and instead, I think Bass won the night, not just by touting her achievements and responding sharply to criticism, but by seeming to have a better command of the moment,” he said.
The third columnist, Lorraine Ali, also threw shade at Raman.
“Raman just needed to knock the mayor off balance — then keep her there for an hour,” she said. “Bass came off composed, confident, and in command of the conversation, while Raman appeared less sure of herself.”
In fairness to Raman, the debate moderators appeared to be biased against her, according to an analysis by Joel Pollak of the California Post:
California Post Opinion Editor @joelpollak weighed in on Tuesday night’s mayoral debate between Nithya Raman and Mayor Karen Bass, highlighting what he saw as a clear bias from the moderators toward one candidate. https://t.co/rkQ3LIrqJ1 https://t.co/xs846LQRYb
— California Post (@californiapost) October 14, 2026
But Raman did herself no favors with some of her non-answer answers, including one regarding Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, whom many have said deserves to be fired.
During the debate, for example, she repeatedly declined to commit to a timeline for firing him, prompting Bass to accuse her of being unprepared to lead the city of Los Angeles, according to the New York Post.
Raman is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has the endorsement of the Los Angeles chapter of DSA, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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