Hasan Piker is becoming a flashpoint in Dem circles as some criticize his speech
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Hasan Piker, a controversial, far-left Twitch streamer, has entered real politics, where his presence is causing a rift in the Democratic Party.
Some Democrats welcomed Piker and even campaigned with him, while others urged the party to reject the broadcaster for what they described as anti-Semitic and anti-American views.
Piker started his daily online stream in 2018 and has gained a huge following, including 3.1 million followers on Twitch, where he streams for several hours on a typical day.
The host called religious Jews “birthers,” defended Hamas as “a thousand times better than a fascist settler colonial regime,” mocked anti-Semitism debates on college campuses, and criticized a listener who criticized Hamas’ Oct. 7 as “a ferocious bloodthirsty pig dog.” Piker also downplayed reports of multiple sexual assaults during the Oct. 7, according to the Times of Israel, and said “it doesn’t matter if the f—— rape happened on October 7. It doesn’t change for me.”
Piker, who was raised Muslim, has repeatedly denied allegations that he is anti-Semitic and has often used his platform to fight back despite what critics say about his speech.
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Hasan Piker, broadcaster and creator, attended a press conference on the third day of the Web Summit Qatar 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 3, 2026. (Nushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In one of his most critical moments, Piker said during a 2019 broadcast that “America deserved 9/11.” Following a major backlash, Piker said in an interview with The Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur that he “obviously” did not mean that America deserved to be attacked and accused critics of disregarding “the real truth of what I was talking about,” describing the viral quote as a criticism of US foreign policy.
“I should have used more precise and better language there,” Piker said in a 2019 interview. “It’s confusing that I would even give the right to try to be accountable in a matter like this when they are 100% responsible for all the bloodshed that has been caused.”
He later admitted in an interview that his comments on 9/11 were “wrong.”
A friendly profile of her in the progressive The Guardian, which also called her “fashionable and beautiful,” worried that her 9/11 comments had been “caught up” by her critics.
Piker has recently become a center of division in the Democratic Party, with some candidates choosing to campaign with him and others warning that endorsing him gives Republicans political fodder.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who is running in Michigan for the US Senate, has recently come under fire after announcing his plan to hold two campaign events with Piker. Amid growing tensions, El-Sayed addressed the issue in a video, explaining his decision to appear with Piker as an effort to reach out to people who feel left out of mainstream politics. However, he also said he agreed with Piker on several issues, including criticism of the war on Iran, criticism of AIPAC’s pro-Israel role in politics, and support for free health care.
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The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned the planned events, with ADL Michigan Regional Director Elyssa Schmier saying El-Sayed’s decision to appear with Piker was “yet another example of the growing normalization of extreme anti-Zionism in mainstream settings.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt criticized Piker’s “long record of condoning and condoning terrorism,” saying the broadcaster “regularly uses his platform to spread anti-Semitic tropes, amplify propaganda from designated terrorist groups, and promote anti-Zionism.”
Greenblatt said it was “absolutely shocking” that El-Sayed decided to campaign with Piker, especially after the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich.
Rising stars like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appeared on Piker’s show.
He appeared on CNN this week to discuss his recent trip to Cuba, bragging about appearing on Elex Michaelson’s “friend” show after being criticized on the same network by CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Hasan Piker attends the 2026 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Mark Guiducci at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic via Getty Images)
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Effie Phillips-Staley, a candidate for Congress in New York’s Jewish 17th Congressional District, is facing backlash over her relationship with Piker. The Democratic leader accused Israel of genocide and being an apartheid state during an appearance on Piker’s show on March 28, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA). The newspaper reported that Democratic Alliance committees in several New York counties issued a joint statement criticizing Piker’s speech and expressing “deep disappointment” in Phillips-Staley.
“His decision represents a dangerous and unacceptable move to sanction speech that has no place in this district, in mainstream Democratic politics, or in any serious political discourse,” the statement read, according to JTA.
Like El-Sayed, Phillips-Staley said she “didn’t agree with every word Hasan Piker ever said,” adding that it was important “to see the great importance of a platform that engages millions of young people in the democratic process.”
Attorney Ritchie Torres, DN.Y., criticized Piker in a letter he wrote to Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy and several others.
“Hasan Piker emerged as the poster child for the post-October 7 outbreak of antisemitism in America,” Torres wrote. “Hasan Piker came out as an apologist not only for 10/7 but also for 9/11, conflating antisemitism with anti-Americanism.”
Hasan Piker attended Zohran Mamdani’s election watch party on Nov. 4, 2025. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Another Democrat, Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., called Piker an “unapologetic antisemite” and warned members of his party against associating with the controversial Twitch streamer.
“Democrats risk losing our trust by condemning those righteous who peddle hatred, indifference, and hatred when our members of Congress and candidates celebrate or, worse, impeach those who promote hatred of any kind,” Schneider wrote in X.
Additionally, Jonathan Cowan, founder of Third Way Democratic Thinking, co-wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal about the Democratic Party’s closeness to Piker.
“Mr. Piker is anti-American, antiwomen, anti-Western and antisemitic. No Democrat should associate with him. They should all want to push him to the fringes, where he belongs,” the article read.
The growing divide among Democrats over Piker underscores the party’s biggest challenge ahead of the midterm elections: how to reach progressive voters without alienating allies or giving Republicans a political opening.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Piker’s team for comment.
