Anika Begay
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign took an interesting detour today when the former president appeared on a livestream hosted by streamer Adin Ross. The livestream was hosted on Kick and, at its peak, had over 580,000 viewers.
Ross is a streamer known for his ability to stir up controversy. At the height of his popularity on Twitch, he amassed over 7 million followers. He hosted influencer Andrew Tate, who is currently facing charges in Romania for rape and human trafficking. He was repeatedly banned from Twitch for using racial slurs, before being permanently banned last year after hosting a chat stream in which users spammed racist and anti-Semitic slurs. Ross migrated to the alternative streaming site Kick, where he continued his antics, including hosting notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Streaming with Trump could generate just as much controversy. At one point in the interview, Ross gave Trump a Rolex watch. Shortly after giving him the watch, Ross brought up Fani Willis, a Georgia district attorney who has filed an indictment against Trump for alleged election interference in the 2020 presidential election.
“I have a friend who is currently being treated very unfairly by [District Attorney Willis]. He’s a rapper named Young Thug,” Ross said on the livestream, referring to Williams’ racketeering case against the rapper. “I was just wondering if there’s a way we can make sure he’s treated fairly?”
Observers wondered whether Ross was trying to bribe Trump.
Donald Trump has a history of bailing rappers out of sticky legal situations. At the end of his term in 2021, Trump pardoned rapper Lil Wayne after he pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession. He also commuted the sentence for rapper Kodak Black, who was sentenced to 46 months after lying on federal forms while trying to purchase firearms.
Trump did not directly answer Ross’s question, saying, “He needs to be treated fairly.” As details of the stream spread on social media, observers questioned whether Ross was trying to bribe Trump or whether accepting such an expensive gift constituted some sort of campaign finance violation.
The two continued the live broadcast with Trump offering one-word comments on a list of celebrities and politicians, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Finally, at the end of the broadcast, Ross gave Trump another gift: a Tesla Cybertruck with a custom wrap depicting the now-famous photo of Trump after he was shot at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The broadcast concluded with Ross and Trump streaming from the Cybertruck as “YMCA” played them.
