United States President Donald Trump has begun streaming political rallies on Twitch.tv. It's a move that makes sense for a politician who wants to reach out to as broad of an audience as possible, but some people have questioned the move in light of previous comments that the president has made about video games.
The president's official verified account has only one broadcast so far: the October 10 rally that he held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In it, he spoke out against 2020 candidate Joe Biden, Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar, and the Somali refugees that inhabit the state.
The stream's comments, as one might imagine, was full of people spamming memes and angrily yelling at each other.
While Twitch is no stranger to IRL streams, it's mostly home to streamers playing video games. It's an odd platform, then, for a president that called out the industry for its violence, and partially blamed it for the mass shootings that have become commonplace in the country.
In August of this year, following two mass shootings, President Donald Trump placed part of the game on violent video games in a national address.
"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society," the president said. "This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace."
These comments resulted in retailers removing ads for violent games, and political opponents taking the opportunity to criticize the president's stance on the issue.
But now, the president has placed has made his way to the popular game streaming service, spreading his political message alongside streams of popular games like Grand Theft Auto V, Fortnite, and Counter Strike. Whether this counts as hypocrisy is up for debate, but it is an odd look for a president who so recently called for reducing America's exposure to violent media.
Regardless, President Trump will likely continue streaming on the platform through the 2020 election. Since his account already has over 55,000 followers, it's likely to be a fruitful platform for him as he attempts to gain popularity among a younger audience.