President Trump has joined the video-streaming giant Twitch and broadcast his first live stream from a rally in Minnesota.
Twitch, now owned by Amazon, started as a platform that users could stream themselves playing video games on, but has now grown and evolved to include streams of other interests, such as politics.
Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang both have accounts and have used them to hold Q&A’s and speak directly to the platform’s users, and now Trump looks to be seizing on the opportunity to broadcast to the younger tech-focused audience that Twitch attracts.
Trump’s account, which had around 47,000 followers on Friday, streamed his Thursday rally in Minneapolis. The video had racked up more than 40,000 views less than a day after it was posted. Trump’s rally in Dallas next week is also expected to be streamed on the platform.
Although Trump is best known for his use of Twitter, his campaign is hoping to expand beyond his typical milieu and into different social media platforms leading up to the 2020 election.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose company owns the platform, has been a frequent target for Trump and his supporters. Trump hasn’t just railed against Amazon, but also often criticizes the Bezos-owned Washington Post.
