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Donald Trump said his son Barron talked him into an interview with high-profile streamer Adin Ross.
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The interview drew over 500,000 viewers and ended with Trump accepting a Cybertruck from Ross.
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This is Trump’s latest effort to engage younger voters.
It appears that former President Donald Trump’s teenage son Barron has become his de-facto Gen Z advisor.
Trump said that his 18-year-old son influenced his decision to interview high-profile streamer Adin Ross.
Trump’s more than one-hour-long interview on Monday with the 23-year-old Ross drew a crowd of about 400,000 to 580,000 viewers. His viewers are primarily male and conservative.
Trump kicked off the interview, which took place in his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, by telling Ross that his son “says hello” and that “he’s a big fan of yours.”
“My sons told me about you,” Trump said to Ross later in the interview, adding that Barron told him: “Dad, he’s really big.”
Ross — who wore a white MAGA hat during the interview — called Barron Trump “awesome” and a “great kid.”
Ross tried to introduce the former president to the world of live streaming, teaching him the nitty-gritty of how live chats work, and introducing Trump to some Gen Z slang.
For one, Ross explained to Trump what the “W’s” that viewers were typing into the live-stream chat meant.
“W’s mean it’s good, W’s means win,” Ross said. “W Trump.”
Halfway through the interview, Ross unveiled the first of two goodies he said he was gifting Trump — a gold Rolex watch.
Trump called it a “beautiful” and “great” watch, showing it to the camera and drawing applause from the audience seated behind them.
And at the end of the interview, Ross said he had another gift for Trump, leading him outdoors to a customized Tesla Cybertruck.
Panning to the vehicle, the video showed that Trump’s iconic photo from his assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally in July was emblazoned on the side of the Cybertruck.
Trump immediately recognized the vehicle, saying “that’s an Elon,” and calling the call “incredible.”
The stream ended with Ross and Trump streaming from the Cybertruck as “YMCA” played them out.
Ross has a follower count of 4.45 million people on YouTube and 1.35 million on Kick, a streaming platform rivaling Twitch. He rose to fame streaming himself playing NBA 2K20 and Grand Theft Auto V.
He has previously hosted some controversial figures, like Andrew Tate, a kickboxer and reality TV star who in 2022 was banned from Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for making misogynistic comments.
Ross has also drawn flak for displaying pornographic content on his livestreams, per NBC.
Trump hasn’t given up on appealing to the Gen Z base
Trump’s latest interview with Ross indicates that he’s still rooting for the support of his younger voters.
This is an effort that has been in the works for a while. Although he once backed a TikTok ban, he is now going all in with his support to keep the app in the US.
He joined the Gen Z-beloved platform on June 1, and within hours had amassed millions of followers. At press time, he has more than 9.6 million followers.
In June, Trump sat down for an hour-long interview with controversial social media influencer Logan Paul, which he promoted on his TikTok.
But his rival Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t far behind on her own tactics to appeal to younger voters through a solid revamp of her campaign’s social media accounts.
Shaking off Biden’s old style from the campaign TikTok account, her first post was a screenshot of Charli XCX’s post endorsing her with the statement “Kamala IS brat.”
The presumptive Democratic nominee has also raked in multiple endorsements from celebrities in the Gen Z orbit.
Apart from Charli XCX, she has gotten stamps of approval from singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo and rapper Cardi B. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion also performed for her rally in Atlanta on July 31.
Representatives for Trump and Ross did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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