Kamala Harris election campaign has now turned to ‘Crazy Taxi’
“The Republicans will probably accuse me of not having a Dreamcast,” said running mate Tim Walz
by Ali Shutler · NMEThe Kamala Harris election campaign continued on Twitch this weekend, with vice president candidate Tim Walz streaming Crazy Taxi.
Over the weekend, Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz joined Democratic politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitch, where the pair played American football game Madden 25 before Walz spoke about the importance of engaging with the world of gaming (via Washington Post).
“I see gamers, many times, are on the front end of this. It’s a collaborative community and they’re competitive. … I see many folks who are cynical about this. I hear it all the time, ‘I’m just not into politics.’ Too bad! Politics is into you.”
When Harris launched her Twitch channel earlier this year, a spokesperson said it was part of a campaign strategy to reach young voters who may be disaffected by modern politics.
During the half hour stream, the pair also discussed the war in Gaza and the need for social security benefits before playing arcade stunt racing game Crazy Taxi. “Back in the old days, I had that Sega Dreamcast. I was teaching school so I thought Grand Theft Auto was a little harsh but there was a game similar to it – Crazy Taxi,” he explained before playing the game. “Is that how you drive in real life,” asked Ocasio-Cortez as Walz struggled with the controls. “Is that a smart ass comment about New York,” he replied.
During the stream, Walz revealed that he got hooked on the Dreamcast and believed the console would “take over the world” when in reality, Sega’s first and only console was something of a flop. Years later, Walz even bought it into his congressional office for his interns to play. “It seemed like he was a lot closer to us culturally than a lot of our teachers were, so it wouldn’t surprise me that he did some gaming,” one of them said at the time.
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Later on during the stream, Walz took a shot at his opponents. “The Republicans will probably accuse me of not having a Dreamcast or something.”
Last week, Bernie Sanders took to Twitch to support Kamala Harris, alongside streamers Pokimane and Valkyrae, actor Mark Hamill and Vtuber Ykkuno while Harris’ campaign has also involved World Of Warcraft streamers.
Over the weekend Leonardo DiCaprio and Bad Bunny announced their endorsement of Kamala Harris adding themselves to a list of celebrities that includes Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Megan Thee Stallion, P!nk, Bon Iver, Quavo, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and Finneas.
Earlier this year, Sega confirmed a reboot of Crazy Taxi was in the works.