Ross — who lost his 7.2 million followers on the live-streaming platform Twitch last year for streaming using homophobic slurs and permitting racist and anti-Jewish messages in his live chat — now has 1.3 million followers on the Kick live-streaming app, where his Trump interview aired.
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During the 1.5-hour Monday interview at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Florida resort, Trump called the U.S. a “drug addicted” and “crime-infested” nation. Ross gifted Trump with a Rolex watch and a custom Tesla Cybertruck that had an image on it of Trump with a bleeding ear raising his fist moments after surviving a July 15 assassination attempt. The two expensive gifts could violate campaign finance laws.
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Ross began the interview by saying that he and his viewers all “love” Trump because he’s a “true hero for this country.” Trump told Ross that his 18-year-old son Barron had informed him about Ross’s large online following. Trump then referred to X’s transphobic, extremist billionaire owner Elon Musk as “a great guy” and “a fantastic person,” before calling Vice President Kamala Harris “stupid,” “incompetent,” “the most unpopular Vice President,” and “worse than” President Joe Biden. Trump later mentioned that she failed her first attorney’s bar exam, though thousands of current lawyers have as well.
Trump then claimed that Biden was replaced in a coup. Later on, he alluded to the coup that his followers attempted when raiding the U.S. Capitol of January 6. Trump called the arrestees “patriots who complained about an unfair election,” even though Trump-appointed federal judges found no evidence of voter fraud in the over 60 cases that Trump and Republicans brought alleging such. Trump has promised to pardon January 6 arrestees even though they injured roughly 140 police officers causing a broken spine, a lost eye, lost fingers, brain damage and multiple cases of PTSD. Trump claims courts have been politicized and too tough on him and the arrestees.
Ross said that his California high school teachers use to tell him how Trump was a “horrible person.”
“You’re not supposed to do that,” Ross said. “It’s inappropriate to have teachers discuss politics in school.” He then asked Trump his thoughts on “corruption” in schools, adding, “They’re teaching some pretty bad stuff in there.”
Trump replied, “[School] has been brainwashed to a certain extent. Even the teachers have been brainwashed.” He then said he wanted “great schools” before saying he wanted a great military to protect the borders. Trump’s GOP platform opposes “racial” and “radical gender ideology” in schools, promising to “defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars.”
Trump then claimed a new war could begin before the November election.
“Our country is in tremendous danger,” economically and militarily, Trump said, before claiming that Israel and Palestine wouldn’t be warring now and Russia would never have invaded Ukraine if he had won re-election in 2020. Trump said in February that he would allow Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to U.S. allies.
Ross asked Trump how to improve the economy. Trump implied markets had no confidence in Biden following his lackluster June 27 debate performance. He then claimed that immigrant “terrorists” from “jails” and “asylums” in “really bad places” are “coming in record numbers” and hurting and killing U.S. citizens. Studies have found that illegal immigration has no connection to increased crime and that immigrants commit crimes at rates lower than U.S. citizens.
When asked about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s recent proclaimation of victory in a likely rigged election, Trump said that cities in the South American country have lower crime than U.S. cities because it “moved” its criminals into the United States.
Trump repeated this theme throughout the interview, claiming later on that Harris and Democrats don’t allow police to do their jobs without threat of prosecution, a possible jab at their police reform efforts to end brutality. He also discussed his interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). He accused NABJ interview Rachel Scott of ABC News of being “rude” by asking him questions about his past slights against Black Americans.
Trump then claimed it’s politically incorrect to proclaim that “all men and women” are created equal, a dogwhistle showing his opposition to transgender existence.
Later on, Ross asked Trump what he thought about Ye, the anti-Semitic rapper previously known as Kanye. Trump called him “complicated” but said “he had a good heart.” Kanye has previously said he likes Hitler and loves Nazis. He also referred to North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un as “very smart, very strong.”
At the end of the interview, Ross gave Trump the aforementioned gifts and the two briefly danced to “YMCA” by the Village People. While Trump often plays the song at his rallies, the song has undeniably gay undertones.
