An anime catboy taught Bernie Sanders about vtubers during a Twitch streaming

Bernie Sanders met with his first catboy vtuber yesterday on a Twitch channel to help promote presidential nominee Kamala Harris. I must say, he handled the situation pretty well. Sanders, even though he is a U.S. Senator, was not hesitant.

Sykkuno, a Twitch streamer who is also a virtual YouTuber, welcomed Sanders in his anime avatar shortly after he joined and explained why he was not on camera with the other streamers. These included AustinShow the host and Pokimane.

"Do you have any idea what a vtuber really is?" Sykkuno asked. There was a brief awkward silence before Sykkuno asked: "Have You Heard of a Vtuber Before?"

"Nope," Bernie admitted.

"No? "No? Thank you for supporting vtubers!" Sykkuno yelled as AustinShow tried moving the show forward.

Sanders smiled at him and said he "looks very good."

The short exchange was a delight in an hour-long Q&A, where Sykkuno asked Mark Hamill, Pokimane and Valkyrae about politics and the upcoming elections. The topics covered included his support for Harris and the conflict in Gaza. The conversation continued for two hours after Sanders left, with guests Hank Green and Mark Cuban.
Sanders's stumble into vtuber 102 was the most shared clip from the stream. It's not everyday that you get to watch an 83-year old senator discuss politics with a messy haired catboy wearing a hoodie. The meetup was a reflection of the Harris campaign's recent efforts to attract young voters, if not more authentic. Brat Summer is over, but Catboy Fall has arrived.

"This could be the funniest moment of American political history," X user, therealpanzer, posted a screenshot with the guests seated on the Discord video conference.

I'll never get over the absurdity that a still photo of human faces is joined by one vtuber. Even after their explosive success on Twitch, YouTube and during the pandemic vtubers still haven't lost the novelty. Ironmouse, a pink-haired vtuber, became the most subscribed Twitch streamer with over 320,000 followers earlier this month. I'm sure Sanders won't the last politician to talk live on Twitch using an anime character. I'm ready for it.