Trump Appeared on a Kick Livestream with Adin Ross, Then Things Got Weird

Trump and Ross broadcast from inside a Tesla Cybertruck, a gift from Ross to Trump. | Image: Kick/Adin Ross

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign took an interesting turn today, as the former president appeared in 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 stirring 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 rape and human trafficking charges in Romania. He was banned from Twitch multiple times for using racial slurs, before being permanently banned last year after broadcasting a chat stream where users spammed racial and anti-Semitic slurs. Ross migrated to alternative streaming site Kick, where he continued his antics, including hosting notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

Ross’s terms-of-service-violating content, like streaming the Super Bowl and scrolling through PornHub, has made him popular with Gen Z men, making it an ideal way for Trump to reach a younger audience — something his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is herself attempting by hosting rallies with rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

The stream with Trump could also be controversial. At one point in the interview, Ross gave Trump a Rolex watch. Shortly after giving him the watch, Ross brought up Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis, who filed an indictment against Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election.

“I have a friend who is being treated very unfairly by (D.A. Willis) right now. He’s a rapper named Young Thug,” Ross said during the livestream, referring to Williams’ racketeering case against the rapper. “I was just wondering if there’s any way we can make sure he’s treated fairly?”

Donald Trump has a history of getting rappers out of trouble. 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 of rapper Kodak Black, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison after lying on federal forms in an attempt to buy guns.

Trump did not directly answer Ross’ question, saying, “He needs to be treated fairly.” As details of the broadcast spread on social media, observers wondered 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 livestream, with Trump giving one-word comments to a list of celebrities and politicians, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Finally, at the end of the stream, Ross presented Trump with another gift: a Tesla Cybertruck with a custom wrap featuring the now-famous photo of Trump after he was targeted at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The stream ended with Ross and Trump streaming from the Cybertruck while “YMCA” played them.