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With the 2026 midterm elections fast approaching, Democrats have been scrambling to find new ways to connect with voters \u2014 particularly young men, a demographic with which the party struggled mightily in 2024 \u2014 and thus far, they appear to have settled on a popular streamer who claimed that the United States \u201cdeserved\u201d 9\/11.<\/p>\n
Hasan Piker<\/a>, who boasts over four million followers between YouTube and Twitch, has hosted Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-NYC), and endorsed Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) \u2014 and is set to campaign with Democratic Michigan Senatorial hopeful Abdul El-Sayed.<\/p>\n Not all Democrats are willing to stretch the party\u2019s tent quite that far, however, and have warned others not to welcome Piker too warmly.<\/p>\n Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is also vying for the Democratic Senate nomination, has accused El-Sayed of intentionally bringing in someone with a reputation for spreading \u201cantisemitic rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed defended his choice, saying, \u201cIf we want to have a conversation where we\u2019re actually bringing people together about the things that we need and deserve, we\u2019re gonna have to go to unlikely and uncommon places.\u201d<\/p>\n He also defended his association with Piker \u2014 who said the sexual violence and rapes that occurred during the October 7 terrorist attack did not change his opinion that Hamas was \u201c1,000 times better than Israel\u201d \u2014 during a recent appearance on Fox News.<\/p>\n \u201cAmerica\u2019s Newsroom\u201d anchor Bill Hemmer asked El-Sayed, \u201cWith regard to October 7th, he said that what Hamas did is the lesser of two evils. Why saddle up with that?\u201d<\/p>\n El-Sayed claimed that his interested in appearing with Piker was no different than his interest in appearing on Fox News, and was nothing more than an attempt to reach more potential voters.<\/p>\n Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defending his event with Hasan Piker: \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter if r*pes happened on October 7th.\u201d<\/p>\n This is what passes for leadership in today\u2019s Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com\/Im4h7WGJQp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Gunther Eagleman\u2122 (@GuntherEagleman) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Senator John Fetterman voiced his shock that some in his party weren\u2019t just agreeing with Piker, but were seeking him out: \u201cI mean, my God, you have many in my party, they\u2019re proud to do events with Hasan Piker. This is the individual that said that America deserved 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n BREAKING: Senator Fetterman slams members of the Democrat party for associating with Hasan Piker.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, my God, you have many in my party, they\u2019re proud to do events with Hasan Piker. This is the individual that said that America deserved 9\/11.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/DBpXQyAt6S<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Bulwark\u2019s Tim Miller and Sarah Longwell debated<\/a> whether or not the Democratic Party would be wise to embrace Piker or reject him. Miller argued that although he didn\u2019t agree with Piker\u2019s politics, he thought that Democrats would be wise to appear on his show \u2014 and then said that if the party establishment were to shun him entirely, they would only make him more powerful.<\/p>\n Longwell laid out a number of the problematic things Piker had said, arguing that he was \u201call the toxic things\u201d and his \u201cworldview\u201d was entirely incompatible with anything any Democrat in America claims to stand for.<\/p>\n Some of the comments that Longwell laid out as problematic were as follows:<\/p>\n Democrat spokesperson Hasan Piker urged his audience to kill Republican lawmakers.<\/p>\n PIKER: \u201cIf you cared about Medicare fraud\u2026you would kill Rick Scott.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the SICK LUNATIC who Democrats are campaigning with. pic.twitter.com\/vgccGZSbem<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hasan Piker: \u201cKiII the motherf*ckers. Let the streets soak in their red, capitalist bIood!\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats are campaigning with him pic.twitter.com\/YxiL47tOOw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) April 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hasan Piker, who endorses Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff, also endorses terrorists:<\/p>\n PIKER: \u201cHezbollah\u2026I think as a resistance group, they\u2019re pretty successful\u2026I don\u2019t have an issue with them\u2026they are a terrorist organization\u2026\u201d@ossoff<\/a>, why haven\u2019t you condemned this? pic.twitter.com\/6hEhC20FPf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hasan Piker: \u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11. I do not support the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n This is Gavin Newsom\u2019s new friend btw.<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/LDjizrQgVN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Hasan Piker, sitting at a table with an LGBTQ+ flag, says: \u201cOverall, my favorite flag is Hezbollah.\u201d<\/p>\n This is progressivism today\u2014a guy in a tank top, in the West, praising a terror group that executes gay people, right in front of a pride flag. pic.twitter.com\/9QrtKqMKnl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) April 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For those curious, Hasan Piker closed his Stanford speech by framing the U.S. as the \u201cbelly of the beast,\u201d urging students to use their position inside it to \u201cfight\u201d the system, warning of \u201ctechno-fascist danger,\u201d and ending with \u201cFree Palestine.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/8OdSZgE3M8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stu Smith (@thestustustudio) April 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If the 2024 election taught Democrats that they need to do more outreach to young men, the 2026 midterms might teach the party that the voice they choose to do that outreach matters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\u201cIf you cared about Medicare fraud \u2026 you would kill Rick Scott.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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On landlords who choose not to rent properties, \u201cKiII the motherf*ckers. Let the streets soak in their red, capitalist bIood!\u201d<\/h4>\n
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\u201cHezbollah \u2026 I think as a resistance group, they\u2019re pretty successful \u2026 I don\u2019t have an issue with them.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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\u201cAmerica deserved 9\/11. I do not support the United States of America.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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\u201cOverall, my favorite flag is Hezbollah.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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\u201cHasan Piker closed his Stanford speech by framing the U.S. as the \u2018belly of the beast,\u2019 urging students to use their position inside it to \u2018fight\u2019 the system, warning of \u2018techno-fascist danger,\u2019 and ending with \u2018Free Palestine.’\u201d<\/h4>\n
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