PHILADELPHIA — As the fallout from the first debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump continues, extreme right-wing influencers have started an unsubstantiated rumor that Ms. Harris received tips from the Nintendo Power Hotline via an earpiece during the debate. Trump has since amplified those rumors, specifically pointing out her detailed answer to a question about The Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
“I heard Kamabla—I like to call her that, should we call her that?—had a little something in the ear,” Mr. Trump claimed at a Las Vegas rally. “Someone at Nintendo—people are saying it could be more than one person—was giving her the answers. Zelda on NES, such a tough game, some say impossible. But somehow, she knew…First Quest, there are two quests, not many people know that…to walk north four times in the Lost Hills to get to the Lizard dungeon?”
Laura Loomer, far-right activist and alleged roommate of Mr. Trump, posted on X that Ms. Harris’ earrings were actually Nova H1 audio earphones, connected to a live agent at the Nintendo Power Hotline. She claimed that the vice president could not have remembered the tricks to speed-running Metroid.
“No way this unqualified woman had immediate recall of how to skip the Kraid and Ridley fights, nearly 40 years after Metroid’s release,” wrote Loomer, referring to Harris’ thorough response to a question posed by moderator David Muir. “She had a Nintendo nerd—one of her cousins in an Indian call center, no doubt—ready to go, telling her to lure a Rio through the door to the Kraid and Ridley statues so she could freeze it and use it as a stepping stone to the door on the other side of the room.”
Vice President Harris dismissed her opponent’s claims as “unhinged,” explaining that playing Nintendo was her way to unwind in law school.
“I am sorry this…former president…has neither the intellectual curiosity nor the temperament to problem-solve, be it as the leader of our country or when playing challenging NES games,” Ms. Harris responded. “Not only is his accusation yet another conspiracy theory designed to steer attention away from his disaster of a vision for America, but spending $1.50 per minute during a 90-minute debate would have been an irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars.”
At press time, Governor Tim Walz was helping his running mate refurbish her Nintendo’s 72-pin connector, suggesting that the more reliable top-loader NES console might be a sound investment.
