Trump vs. The Gamers

For those unaware, Nintendo is about to launch its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, on June 5th. It's a big deal, considering the last new hardware from Nintendo (the OG Switch) was released over 8 years ago. The Japanese video game giant has been slowly rolling out the platform’s announcement over the past month with hype events and launch videos, teasing new games, and last week, setting the console’s price at $449.99.

That last bit - the $450 console price point with the potential for some games costing $90 - drove Nintendo fans into a rage and is dominating the online conversation about the Switch 2. It’s a significant price increase from the Switch’s original launch price in 2017 at $299, and people are upset. 

Then, last week’s Trump tariff announcement made things much worse. Nintendo manufactures the Switch 2 primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia, where the President has imposed tariffs nearing 50%. That caused the company to indefinitely halt all U.S. preorders for the new device. Gamers who were excited to be placing their orders today (April 9th) are now left out in the cold waiting for further news from Nintendo. Some reports suggest a further price increase is coming. 

It’s not just Nintendo - the entire video game industry is severely impacted by tariffs, with Playstation and X-Box prices expected to increase if Trump’s trade rules remain in effect. Since millions of Americans - especially young men - spend hours a day playing video games, what does all of this mean for Trump and our politics? I recently caught up with Erik Balsbaugh, a Democratic strategist, organizer, and co-founder of At Dawn campaigns. He’s been vocal about the need for Democrats to organize niche online communities and sees the current tariff situation as a key opportunity for the Democrats to show they care. 

Here’s a bit of what he told me:

KT: If the Switch 2 increases in cost or faces further delays due to tariffs, how angry do you think young gamers will be at Trump? What kind of opportunity does this present Democrats?

EB: Gamers have been frustrated with the state of the industry for years. Games and consoles have become more expensive while the quality of the content provided has dropped precipitously. Games are often hyped endlessly and then launch effectively unplayable while companies ask increasingly obnoxious prices for Collectors’ Editions. 

Bannon and the Right noticed the rising tide of anger in gamer communities and elevated misogynistic and nativist messaging campaigns that blamed "wokeness" in the gaming industry for these problems. 

It was never wokeness that caused these issues, but corporate malfeasance and bad leadership. Switch 2 will probably be the largest console launch ever. The tariffs, which are not only affecting the ability of Americans to pre-order, but will have a significant impact on the overall supply, will drive the cost through the roof as scalpers corner the market and make it so only the wealthiest gamers will be able to afford one. As of right now, you see a lot of streamers talking about this online, and it cuts across the space. People who never talk about politics are talking about how the trade war will make it impossible to buy the new console. Pokemon streamers are complaining that buying Pokemon packs has become insanely expensive. This is something that affects young people in what they do every day in their lives. The Democrats need to show up and make the connection.

KT: Do you think there are any Democrats doing a good job of talking about this? Do Democrats realize this is an opportunity?

EB: There are a few, like AOC and Maxwell Frost, but for the most part, no. 

Democrats are just now waking up to the importance and complexity of niche youth subcultures, and gaming is a massive web of these subcultures. We need to employ influencers and community members across all platforms, from Twitch and YouTube to Discord and Reddit to reach into these subcultures in a way that's culturally literate. Most Democrats are reposting content about the Switch, but it is stuck in a “talk at the young people” mentality. So much of the content that Dems put out is straight-to-camera explanations of what is happening, almost like a school teacher mentality. Young men aren’t especially in love with that. AOC, for example, engages with people through a shared interest, the most obvious example being when she played Among Us with a number of streamers. Democrats need to show young people they care about them, not tell them. 

KT: What parts of the electorate do you think this impacts the most?

EB: Young people of all genders play games, but gaming is the dominant cultural force for young men. It's larger than movies and television combined both in terms of audience size and industry revenue. It both reflects and creates cultural perspectives that are driving attitudes toward our government, politics, and civil society. The Switch issue, in particular, cuts across age groups, as every kid will ask their parents for one, in addition to the traditional core gamer audience of young men. 

Americans are learning what tariffs are

According to an Ipsos poll in December of last year, only 45 percent of Americans (and 35% of Republicans) could accurately describe what a tariff is. With the global economy in free fall, that may be changing: relative Google search interest for tariffs and related questions are surging to a historic high. 

Cory Booker’s big week, by the numbers

According to a new analysis from CAP Action, Cory Booker’s record-breaking filibuster on the Senate floor last week was spread far and wide online:  

Senator Booker’s filibuster received nearly 45 million engagements and at least 300 million views across all political leans between Monday evening and Thursday evening last week, with coverage driven overwhelmingly by progressive and neutral pages. For context, the filibuster coverage on April 1 was the second-highest single-day spike of any notable moment CAP Action tracked this year. That’s more than the Hegseth Group Chat, the State of the Union, or previous tariff announcements. The only story to generate more engagements in a single day was the Potomac plane crash in late January.

Stacking up against other political figures: Booker was the subject of more social media engagement on Tuesday from progressive and neutral pages than Elon Musk has been on any day in 2025. That analysis includes JD Vance, the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders rallies, and Joe Biden’s departure from the White House. The only notable political figure to generate more engagement so far in 2025, is of course, Donald Trump, who remains by far the leading figure

MrBeast goes off on tariffs

Jimmy Donaldson, known on YouTube as MrBeast, spoke out against Trump’s tariffs yesterday. The viral creator, who owns a popular candy company called Feastables, noted that while the tariffs will hurt his bottom line, they may impact American small businesses even harder. “I feel for small businesses though. Could really be a nail in the coffin for them,” he tweeted. This is important because Donaldson is another example of a mega-celebrity that speaks directly to one of the Democrats’ weakest constituencies - young men. In addition to MrBeast, podcaster Joe Rogan and Barstool’s Dave Portnoy have been critical of Trump’s policies this week. 

More things you should read: 

• Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, entering one of the most critical Senate campaigns of the 2026 midterms, announced that he’d raised a historic amount of money for his re-election bid in Q1.

• Kyle Chayka at The New Yorker went long on Bluesky and its “quest to build nontoxic social media.”

• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pissed off his MAHA followers after saying the MMR vaccine was alright, so he decided to quickly pivot and go hard against…public water fluoridation. 

• According to The Daily Beast, Elon Musk “rage quit” a livestream after being cyberbullied by gamers.

• The person who runs the anti-woke “Libs of TikTok” accounts on social media accompanied DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on an ICE raid. 

• There’s a cookie monster in the Cabinet.

One last thing: Looks so much nicer

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