Pro Hearthstone player and streamer Jeffrey “Trump” Shih has been mistaken on Twitter for US president Donald Trump following the US Capitol riots.
In the wake of the US Capitol storming by Trump supporters, several social media platforms have banned or suspended the President’s accounts including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch. The platforms have flagged several recent posts for inciting violence in which Trump referred to the rioters as “patriots” and as “very special.”
While the tech companies scramble to react to ongoing events and escalating tensions, an unexpected challenger has emerged in the Twittersphere to Trump’s title, albeit unwillingly.
Pro Hearthstone player and streamer Jeffrey “Trump” Shih, who goes by the username “TrumpSC” on social media platforms, revealed on Twitter that he is getting an influx of followers due to being mistaken for the outgoing president. While the idea that a 33-year-old Asian man can be mistaken for a 74-year-old orange man seems completely absurd, please consider all the stupid stuff that has occurred over the past four years.
Shih has expressed regret in his chosen username, stating in the FAQ on his Twitch channel:
“It’s a short and powerful name. My intent was mainly to use the verb form: trump – v – to excel; surpass; outdo. I consider it the ultimate unlucky RNG that Donald Trump won the presidency.”
Getting a lot of Twitter followers right now. I might not be who you're trying to follow. You're looking for the former president, not the Hearthstone player.
— Trump (@TrumpSC) January 6, 2021
Shih’s tweet has gained incredible traction, with more than 172 thousand likes as of this time of publication. The former Starcraft II pro currently has just over 170 thousand followers on his Twitter account and 819 thousand followers on his Twitch account. He has not commented on the events at the US Capitol beyond this tweet.
Shih has become the latest character in the ongoing US politics/gaming crossover arc following Twitch removing the famous PogChamp emote — citing inflammatory comments made on Twitter by the emote’s face, Ryan “Gootecks” Gutierrez.
One of the US Capitol rioters was also spotted bearing a tattoo of a symbol from the Dishonored series of games. Developers of the stealth game series have come out with public statements on Twitter condemning the symbol’s appropriation by the alt-right and debunking conspiracy theories falsely connecting it to left-wing political movement Antifa.
Check out Shih’s Twitch here.
