After Donald Trump interviewed the social media influencer, whose previous guests have included an accused rapist and an avowed white supremacist, the host gifted the former president a Tesla Cybertruck as well as a Rolex watch, which could fund the campaign. violation.
Trump’s campaign has since said it will seek guidance from the Federal Election Commission on how to handle the gifts. Internet celebrity Adin Ross, who hosted Trump, has not publicly commented on the gifts due to campaign finance laws that limit individual contributions to political candidates they support to $3,300, well below the value of a truck and a watch.
Ross, a 23-year-old professional video game broadcaster, has made a name for himself by interviewing guests such as Andrew Tate, who faces rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
He was banned from the Twitch streaming platform after he made homophobic and racist comments there. Ross has since moved to Kick, a Twitch competitor, to host his streams, and it was there that he hosted Trump for an 80-minute interview on Monday.
While far-right influencers are typically generous in their praise of Trump, Ross went above and beyond the praise during his live broadcast with the former president and Republican nominee for the White House in November against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Wow! That’s Elo,” Trump said when Ross showed him the Tesla Cybertruck. The car featured a photo of Trump with his fist raised in the air after a failed assassination attempt on him on July 13.
Trump called the Cybertruck “incredible” and “beautiful,” and he seemed equally pleased with the Rolex Ross gave him. However, Tesla Cybertrucks start at $60,000 and can go up to $100,000 with trims. And the cheapest Rolex watches start at $5,000, meaning Ross’ gifts to Trump far exceeded federal limits on such contributions to political candidates.
The live broadcast mostly took place in the front seat of the car, with background music playing as Ross let Trump go with various tidbits.
In one of them, Trump said that Yi, formerly known as rapper Kanye West, who has a history of anti-Semitic comments, is “a really good guy.”
Although Ye has apologized for some of his comments when they cost him sponsorships and collaborations, he has faced criticism from anti-Semitism groups, including the Anti-Defamation League.
Yeh has also been a longtime Trump supporter. In 2022, Trump hosted Yee and Fuentes for dinner at Mar-a-Lago, an event that drew some criticism from the former president. Trump eventually said he “never met and knows nothing” about Fuentes before Yee brought him to Mar-a-Lago.
“You know, he has a good heart,” Trump told Ye Ross. “But she’s complicated, Kanye.”
The passenger seat of a car is an unusual place for a political rallying point. But Trump has been trying to reach young male voters, and he’s found the support of some extremely influential people like Ross who are willing to help him.
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It was Trump’s latest spat with provocative influencers, who have a largely Z-male following. Trump recently released videos with Jake Paul, an influencer and boxer who is not classified by the sport’s major sanctioning bodies.
Earlier this summer, Trump sat down for an interview with Paul’s older brother Logan, a professional wrestler.
Trump’s vice presidential candidate J.
Internet celebrities have millions of devoted followers. Ross’ streams can garner up to 150,000 regular viewers, with 500,000 people tuning into his interview with Trump.
Trump told Ross that he was aware that “the youth tend to be Democratic.”
“Step up now, all you young people,” he told viewers.