Ladies and gentlemen, we all know the world of political campaigns can be crazy, and now they’re trying to connect with today’s youth. Reaching out to the younger generation is crucial, especially during election seasons. But sometimes, these attempts can go sideways—just like what’s happening with Kamala Harris’s campaign.
So, here’s the scoop. The Harris campaign has been focusing some of its efforts on the streaming community, which is wildly popular with younger audiences. The idea is simple: get influencers and streamers—those people with massive followings who can sway opinions—to speak positively about Harris. However, instead of gaining traction, this strategy seems to be backfiring, creating more headaches than support.
One of the biggest names in streaming, Kai Cenat, stirred up quite the conversation when he mentioned during a stream that the Secret Service had contacted him to collaborate with a campaign. Although he didn’t say which campaign, many folks immediately assumed it was Harris’s. Why? Because other influencers had already confirmed that her team had approached them.
But here’s where it gets messy. The Harris campaign denied ever reaching out to Cenat, telling TMZ that it wasn’t them. Cenat responded by pointing out that he never actually named Harris. He made it clear that he’s not interested in getting mixed up in politics and would never lie about something like this. So, what’s really going on?
It appears there’s some finger-pointing and confusion. TMZ reported that a third party associated with the Democratic National Committee (DNC) convention team had been in talks with Cenat even before President Biden stepped out of the race. But Cenat’s account suggests these discussions might still be happening, which contradicts what TMZ reported.
Notice how Kamala Harris twists her words to throw Kai Cenat under the bus? pic.twitter.com/JNBEqV7PEJ
— Doc Reichenbach (@DocReichenbach) August 14, 2024
What’s undeniable, though, is that Harris’s campaign has been actively reaching out to various influencers, trying to get them on board. For example, one influencer received an offer to promote Harris on Instagram in exchange for payment. Another TikTok influencer, Lauren Mochen, revealed that she, too, was approached but turned down the offer, warning that any influencer promoting Harris might be getting paid for it.
Even Faze Ronaldo, another big-name streamer with over a million followers, has called out Harris’s campaign, asking them to stop contacting him. While it’s not confirmed whether Ronaldo was actually contacted, it fits the pattern of the campaign’s strategy to reach out to popular streamers.
Kamala Harris is trying to stream with FaZe Ronaldo but he turned it down pic.twitter.com/lJ8FYzq6Ip
— FaZe HQ (@FaZe_HQ) August 7, 2024
Now, it’s easy to see why this approach could be embarrassing for the Harris campaign. Being turned down publicly by influencers is not a good look.
Many of these influencers avoid politics to keep their audience intact, knowing that taking sides could alienate half of their followers. However, their influence over their audiences is undeniable.
