Asmongold in front of a wall with barbed wire

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“My goal ... is to radicalize people as much as possible”: Asmongold's extreme rhetoric about immigration and ideological opponents

The video game streamer, who routinely engages in political punditry, has an enormous online presence, with over 9 million current followers across platforms and 2.4 billion views on just his active YouTube channels in 2025

Written by Gideon Taaffe, Noah VanDowe & Ben Van Bloem

Published

Video game streamer Zack Hoyt, better known online as Asmongold, has emerged in the right-leaning media landscape as an influential political commentator. Now he is urging a future Republican administration to go “Old Testament” on perceived political enemies and take a harsher approach to immigration, including by denaturalizing citizens and rounding up “parasite” immigrants and anti-ICE protestors.

Hoyt has an audience of millions who tune in to watch the streamer scroll through social media, play video games, and react to the latest news. Alongside gaming content, Hoyt pushes right-wing talking points on subjects ranging from “identity politics and progressive values” to immigration, amassing 2.4 billion views on his YouTube channels alone in 2025. 

And while his streams often have a stream-of-consciousness feel, Hoyt has a clear agenda, as he explained while talking about migrants in the United Kingdom: “I want to make one thing extremely clear. My goal with talking about this stuff is to radicalize people as much as possible. I show this and I portray this stuff in the most extreme and negative way so I can make people angry and they'll be willing to follow the solutions that I want them to follow. Because I don't want people to get this confused. I have a very clear goal with the way that I express this stuff.” 

Hoyt has praised anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson and white nationalist Nick Fuentes for their comments on immigration and for being “willing to put it on the table and risk their platforms by saying this stuff, and I respect that as somebody who would not do that.” Hoyt continued, “In a big way, if it wasn't for them doing what they did, I wouldn't be able to do what I do.” He further explained that he sees his “role” in the media ecosystem as acting as a bridge between the far-right white nationalists and more “mainstream” figures: “I try to take a slightly more mainstream position — and there are people that are more mainstream than I am. Like people like Piers Morgan, I would say, is also mainstream to that extent. Now his opinions borderline on being disagreeing with mine, but fundamentally, I think that he has the best interests of Western society in mind even though he says stupid things a lot of times. But it's about trajectory.” The trajectory Hoyt is on is one that calls for political repression and anti-immigrant policies.  

Hoyt has used the kind of “extreme and negative” content described above to argue that anti-ICE protesters should be placed in “camps” for “mandatory labor,” that Trump should go “Old Testament” on political opponents, and that immigration enforcement and deportations should be more aggressive. He has also made it clear to potential 2028 presidential candidates that if they pledge to use the National Guard against protesters, denaturalize citizens, and act like a “psycho,” then his vote is up for grabs.

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  • Asmongold is a massively popular right-leaning streamer, with billions of views on YouTube alone

    • As of July 8, Hoyt has over 6.4 million subscribers on his two most active YouTube accounts, along with billions of views. His two most active YouTube channels have over 9 billion lifetime views combined, having amassed at least 2.4 billion views in 2025 alone. They currently have over 6.4 million combined subscribers. [YouTube, Asmongold TV, accessed 7/8/26; YouTube, Asmongold Clips, accessed 7/8/26; Media Matters, 12/11/25]
    • Hoyt has nearly 2.8 million followers across his other platforms, including Twitch, Kick, and Rumble. Hoyt’s Zackrawrr Twitch channel has over 2.4 million followers; his Kick account has over 300,000 followers; and his Rumble account has over 60,000 followers. [Twitch, Zackrawrr, accessed 7/7/26; Kick, Asmongold, accessed 7/7/26; Rumble, Asmongold, accessed 7/7/26] 

  • Asmongold has urged for the government to “brutalize” protesters and punish them with “compelled slave labor” and other extreme sentences

    • In October 2025, Hoyt called for arrested anti-ICE protesters to be used for “compelled slave labor.” Hoyt said he was “not a fan” of ICE potentially injuring protestors because then “you can't make them work in the prison,” adding, “I would want to utilize their bodies for compelled slave labor. That's the only reason.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 10/3/25]
    • In January, Hoyt called for anti-ICE protesters to be “put in a camp” for “mandatory labor” of five to 10 years. He argued, “I think they should just bring in the military, find every single one of the people that did this, build a, you know, temporary camp like Alligator Alcatraz, and then pack them into that camp like sardines, and then basically send every single one of them through federal charges, put them in federal prisons, and then force them into mandatory labor for five to 10 or more years.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 1/19/26]
    • In February, Hoyt said “nothing would galvanize voters more” than if the Trump administration put “domestic terrorists” at Minnesota anti-ICE rallies in Guantanamo Bay. “Nothing would galvanize voters more than to see this guy sent to Guantanamo Bay. Like, I dream of the day that we send these domestic terrorist retards to Guantanamo Bay,” Hoyt explained, continuing, “You got to put these people in jail for like 10, 15, 20 years. And it doesn't matter until everyone who’s doing this shit is in prison.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 2/6/26]
    • In reaction to a video of an anti-ICE protester allegedly injuring a journalist, Hoyt argued that the “solution” to dealing with violent protesters is to “violently arrest” people, “brutalize” them, and “put them in camps and … keep them there.” He added, “And if they’re very violent, then you shoot them with a gun. It’s really simple.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 5/3/26]
    • Hoyt said Karmelo Anthony, who in June was convicted of stabbing and killing Austin Metcalf, should be publicly executed to show demonstrators “you’re not in control.” Hoyt ranted, “This is the reason why I think we should publicly execute him. This is the exact reason. Is that you got to show these people that the way that you're acting and everything, like, you're not in control. You're not in control, you're never going to be in control, and it's better that way. This is exactly the reason why I think we should do it.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 6/12/26; BBC, 6/10/26]

  • Asmongold has called for the Trump administration to jail left-leaning political figures, journalists, and teachers

    • Hoyt said if he was Trump, he would have gone “Old Testament” on his political enemies, and it “would have been a thousand times worse.” He continued, “Houses raided. I would have gone through all their stuff. I would have done everything. Taken them and charged them with as many possible things as I could. And whatever the worst thing possible is, that's what I would do, because they tried to do it to me.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 10/17/25]
    • Responding to political strategist and commentator Ana Navarro’s discussion on CNN about an attempted bombing in New York City, Hoyt said, “The only way that you can deal with these people is to just completely oppress them and then just beat them down.” Hoyt: “All you can do is consolidate power and work in every single best interest that you can to remove any ability for them to have influence over anything. That's the thing that you should be doing. The moment that you try to even talk to them, you're making a mistake.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 3/11/26; NPR, 3/9/26]
    • While reacting to a video of students participating in an anti-ICE walkout, Hoyt called to “put the teachers on trial.” Hoyt said, “The teachers let them go out and do this. You've got to go after the teachers for this stuff, you do. And the moment that you go after the teachers, then you’re going to have all these problems go away.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 2/17/26]
    • Hoyt complained: “I don’t like the fact that Trump is not more authoritarian.” Hoyt said, “I don’t think he even goes 10% of how far I would want him to go” and called for the government to “black bag” liberal judges. He later added, “Anybody throwing a rock, anybody threatening with a knife a federal officer, just instantly shoot them.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 8/25/25]
    • Hoyt after former FBI Director James Comey surrendered to the police: “We should be doing this every day. I love this.” He added, “You have to make this as painful as possible for him. Even if you don’t get him convicted, you have to make it as unpleasant as possible.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 4/29/26; CNN, 4/29/26] 
    • Hoyt called for the leaders of Democratic-run cities to be “put in prison permanently.” Hoyt argued, “I think they need to be tried for, like, I don't know. Sedition, maybe? Some form of like — as I said, I'm an Old Testament kind of guy. I think try them and put them in jail. Put them in prison.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 10/4/25] 
    • Hoyt said he may vote for Trump for a third term if he starts “putting these activist journalists in jail.” He explained, “The moment that we actually start putting journalists in jail for like 10 years, then I'll think to myself, OK, all right, maybe now it's time to vote for Trump a third term. Maybe now there's actually something that's going to happen. But until we start putting these activist journalists in jail, whenever they openly break the law, advocate for other people to break the law, and cause all these problems, then maybe I'll do it. But you're right.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 1/19/26]
    • Hoyt said the “goal” should be to cut people who argued there was no fraud happening in Minneapolis “out of the democratic process entirely” through deportations, disenfranchisement, and imprisonment. Hoyt: “There's no reason to even argue with them. Like, they're totally captured. The goal really is to just show that it's a lie and then get more people to vote on your side. And eventually, once we get enough of those people, we just fucking just cut those people out of the democratic process entirely. Deport them, fucking put people in jail, take it to where — take away their right to vote. Like, go all the way. That should be the goal. That is the holy grail. That is the promised land. They're all in jail. They can't vote. They're getting deported. They take all their shit back, and that's it. And so never forget that is the best case scenario.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 5/23/26]
    • After the Department of Justice announced an investigation into Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Hoyt called on the DOJ to “make up whatever they possibly can to get this guy in jail.” “It doesn't matter how we can get you,” Hoyt argued, “The only thing that matters is that we get you — that we have to make your life and your existence as a public person as unpleasant, uncomfortable, dangerous, and problematic as possible.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 6/15/26]
    • While discussing former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton’s guilty plea for mishandling sensitive documents, Hoyt said that he doesn’t “give a fuck about the rules” or think that Trump should go to jail for the same crime. Hoyt: “But, if he's guilty, so should Trump? No. I like Trump. I don't like John Bolton. I want John Bolton to go to jail. I don’t want Trump to go to jail. Well, I don't give a fuck about the rules. I don't like him. I don't like what he does. I don't like the way he acts. I don't like the way he behaves. I don't like the way he talks about Trump. I don't like the way he talks about the country. I don't like what he represents. I don't like anything about him. I don't give a fuck about what's right or wrong. I want to put that fucker in jail.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 6/27/26; The Associated Press, 6/26/26]
    • Reacting to a clip of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Hoyt said he would vote for anyone who will campaign on “putting this woman out of America, revoking her citizenship, and sending her back to Somalia.” Hoyt said he was “so sick of these foreigner immigrants coming into our country, turning it into the Third World shitholes that they came from, and then running for office, and then trying to use our Constitution as a justification for their Third World-ification of our country. We got to get them out.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 1/13/26]

  • Asmongold has pushed for more aggressive immigration enforcement, including more deportations and “denaturalizing citizens”

    • While reacting to a video about fraud in California, Hoyt endorsed voting “for somebody who will just go Old Testament on these people” by deporting the families of those guilty of fraud and revoking people’s citizenship. He continued, “I think people need to be radicalized against this. I think we need to vote for somebody who will just go Old Testament on these people. And not only deport the people that are doing it, but deport the people that were collaborators, deport their whole family, send them back completely. Like just AOE them out. Like, revoke visas, revoke work permits, revoke, you know, citizenship even. Get them out.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 3/17/26] 
    • Hoyt said that if it were up to him, people like Ilhan Omar “would be on a boat back to Somalia.” While discussing Omar, Hoyt said, “If it was up to me, people like her would be on a boat back to Somalia, on the first day. Right? You literally, like, go in the middle of the night, round them all up, put them on a boat, and send them all back. And that would be the end of it. I don't know why we're not doing that, honestly. I really don't. It's so annoying.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 6/27/26]
    • Hoyt also said that he was “not satisfied” with the “level of aggression and force” being used to remove migrants and suggested “denaturalizing citizens.” Hoyt said, “I am not satisfied in the level of aggression and force that they are using to get rid of a lot of these people,” adding, “What we need to be thinking about is denaturalizing citizens. We need to be thinking about removing lawful permanent residents.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 4/13/26]

  • Asmongold is urging for a candidate in 2028 who will impose harsh punishments on political opponents and immigrants

    • Hoyt said that in 2028 he will vote for whoever will be the most “Old Testament” on removing “parasite” immigrants, adding that we should use the National Guard or military to “round them all up.” “I don't know why we let these parasites do this. I really don't,” Hoyt said, adding, “Mass deportations and the revocation of migrant and immigrant status to a lot of these people should just be like — it should be assumed.” He continued, “In 2028, like, Marcus Rubius, JD Vance, whoever the fuck is going to run, I am going to vote for whoever will go the most Old Testament with removing these people out of our country. Every single one. Every single one. I think we use the National Guard and the military to round them all up.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 3/17/26]
    • Hoyt said that if Vice President JD Vance runs in 2028 on jailing school teachers who allow students to participate in protests, “Maybe I'll vote for him.” Asmongold: “Maybe JD Vance, if he runs on doing this kind of stuff, then maybe I'll vote for him. But I don't know if they're ready to go in on this. I don't know if they're ready to actually go and push this to the limit that it needs to be at. … I don't think that we have somebody who's ready to be harsh enough on this stuff as it should be. And devouring mothers are a blight to society? Well, exactly. But, like, what do you — like, you need to have somebody, and you need to have somebody who's ready and willing to treat these people like they deserve. Like they deserve. And whenever that person shows up, that's who I'll vote for. And I'm waiting for that. I am.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 2/5/26]
    • Hoyt reacted to a video of anti-ICE protesters, saying, “See, I'm going to vote for whoever's going to put every single one of these people in jail.” He continued, “That's who I’ll vote for. Whoever is going to take every single one of these people and lock them up like the animals they are, that's my guy.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 1/29/26]
    • Hoyt said he would vote for someone who would treat anti-ICE protesters “10 times worse” than the Trump administration. Asmongold: “It's going to get a lot worse. If it's up to me, I'm going to vote for somebody that's going to make it 10 times worse. I think everybody else should too. These people are parasites. They're retards. They'll destroy everything around them just so they can feel good. This is only the beginning. If you thought it was bad now, it's going to get a lot worse. We're going to institutionalize these people. It's going to be done.” [YouTube, Asmongold TV, 1/12/26]
    • In June, Hoyt said he would vote for former Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino because of Bovino’s anti-immigrant sentiments and praised him for seeming like a “psycho.” Hoyt: “And so holy shit, man. I really like this guy. If this guy ran for office, I'd vote for him. I would. This guy seems like a psycho. He does. He seems like a guy that's really — like whenever I heard that he had a secret plan to deport a hundred million people, I knew that, you know what? I think I could work with that. That's a man's man? It sure is. And he'd do the job, I know. Hope he runs for president? Yeah. I'd vote for a guy like this.” [ABC 4, 6/10/26; YouTube, Asmongold TV, 6/18/26]