IShowSpeed is a national treasure.. | Asmongold TV

IShowSpeed, the 19-year-old streamer known for chaotic, high-energy broadcasts, recently traveled to China and streamed his experience. The reaction from Asmongold and his co-host watching the clips is not just amusement — it is genuine awe. They argue that Speed’s trip, in which he rides in a flying taxi, gets pranked by locals handing him bananas and KFC, and dances with a robot, has done more for American soft power in China than any government program ever could.

The episode is built around reacting to Speed’s China stream, but the conversation quickly becomes a broader meditation on cultural exchange, the limits of government-funded diplomacy, and the sheer strangeness of what a 19-year-old with a phone and no filter can accomplish.

The soft power argument

The most striking claim comes early. Asmongold’s co-host says that the U.S. should take all the money it spends on USAID in China and give it to Speed instead. “He’s done more for soft power of America and improving American relationships with these other countries than USAID can ever even dream of,” he says. Asmongold agrees immediately: “Speed is the real soft power. Invest in speed.”