It’s not uncommon for politicians to collaborate with celebrities during political campaigns. This allows them to leverage the stars’ popularity among the masses and use their influence, particularly among young or first-time voter demographics. This is a sound strategy used on the political stage; celebrities help create a sense of excitement and relevance around a political campaign and help politicians reach potential voters who might otherwise be disengaged or indifferent to political issues. It has happened before.
If you think Kanye West‘s support of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is history’s first: well, it’s not. Oprah Winfrey supported Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic primaries, which was a pivotal moment in Barack Obama’s campaign, helping the former president gain significant traction among female and Black voters. Bill Clinton did it with MTV’s Rock the Vote; Ronald Reagan, as a former actor, had the entire entertainment industry supporting him. John F. Kennedy had Frank Sinatra’s support, and rumors now suggest that Kamala Harris is clamoring to collaborate with Kai Cenat.
Now, it’s time to address the rumors. Streaming sensation Kai Cenat recently claimed that the Secret Service has been contacting him repeatedly for a potential collaboration with Vice President and current Democratic Party presidential candidate Kamala Harris. This isn’t so surprising; Kai Cenat is the #1 American Twitch streamer and a YouTuber with more than 12 million followers on Twitch alone, where he’s known for his comedy-based content. With such a massive following, his support could significantly boost Kamala Harris’ campaign.Â
Cenat’s live reaction to the Secret Service’s alleged attempts to reach him went viral. He exclaimed, “I’ve got the f***ing Secret Service calling me five times,” expressing his unfamiliarity with politics, as well as his unwillingness to engage. Cenat also added that he reconnected with someone he had been pursuing for quite some time after the two had not spoken in about a year, and that the person told him he was needed as part of the campaign — for which he thought they were referring to a video game or a clothing campaign at first.
But here’s an interesting part: Kai Cenat’s live reaction came only a day following Adin Ross’ stream with former President Donald Trump, during which the former president was gifted a Rolex and a customized Tesla Cybertruck. That particular stream was watched by more than 1.5 million people, with half a million concurrent viewers at one point. That aside, some media personalities and social media influencers were shocked by Cenat’s reaction, believing that Harris’ campaign was trying to match Trump’s appearance at Adin Ross’ livestream.
Other influencers only added to the hype; Pink Book Lessons noted that Kai Cenat has hosted live streams in the past, with celebrities like Kevin Hart, Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj, and Tyla, adding that he might’ve been pressured to have political guests on his stream — PBL also mentioned Trump’s appearance at Adin Ross’. Kai Cenat also added that various blogs have been urging him to collaborate with Harris, but he also reiterated that he has and wants no involvement in politics.
Radio host Charlamagne tha God perhaps offered the sanest commentary on the situation, suggesting that the collaboration between Kamala Harris and Kai Cenat would be completely inorganic simply because Kai isn’t known for his political commentary. So, how did all of this come to be, and why would the Secret Service or a member of Kamala Harris’ team contact Kai Cenat, an internet personality known for his disaffiliation with anything political?
Internet tales are often not what they seem. Just look at all those celebrities re-inventing mathematics. Sources allege that Cenat wasn’t actually contacted by members of the Secret Service, nor anyone from Kamala Harris’s campaign team. In the end, why would they? It’s generally safe to assume that the potential future leader of the entire nation, as well as her associates, would know better than to seek support from celebrities that are completely apolitical of their own volition and, thus, politically irrelevant.
The same sources allege that Cenat was actually pursued by a third-party group informally involved with the upcoming Democratic National Convention, stating that those (alleged) talks began before Harris even became a nominee following Joe Biden’s exit from the current electoral race. So, while the idea of the Harris campaign reaching out to secure a co-sign from a celebrity isn’t too far-fetched, they’re not likely to contact someone who simply isn’t politically relevant.
In the end, we have to ask ourselves why Kamala Harris would even entertain the idea of sitting down with Kai Cenat and what the two of them would even talk about. Kai’s 1,070 deaths in Dead Souls or his horrible Bloodborne playstyle? There surely is a more politically involved, knowledgeable celebrity she could talk to. In the end, do we truly believe that the Secret Service goes around calling celebrities on the phone and trying to set up an interview for Kamala Harris? Isn’t that some campaign manager’s job or a communication specialist’s?