Michigan Senate Nominee El-Sayed Downplays Radical Ties to Hasan Piker After Primary Win
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
After barely securing the Democratic nomination, Abdul El-Sayed attempts to distance himself from extremist streamer Hasan Piker’s anti-American comments, dismissing concerns as 'cancel culture' while seeking support from the party establishment.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is under fire for his association with far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously declared in 2019 that America 'deserved 9/11.' During a Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, El-Sayed faced tough questions about his connection to Piker, whose radical rhetoric has alarmed many since El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens by just one percentage point.
El-Sayed attempted to downplay the controversy, calling Piker’s comment 'dumb' and insisting that Piker had since disavowed it, stating, '> Of course it was a dumb statement. I think Hasan himself would say it was a dumb statement. He disavowed it. So yes, America didn’t deserve 9/11.'
Rather than fully condemning the dangerous sentiment, El-Sayed shifted the conversation to complain about 'gotcha politics' and so-called 'cancel culture,' saying, '> I want to be held accountable for what I say and do, rather than this idea that we’re stuck in cancel culture.'
This evasive response mirrored that of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has also refused to distance herself from radical figures like Piker. Piker, for his part, has expressed irritation at having to repeatedly apologize for his anti-American outburst.
El-Sayed’s campaign, which has benefited from Piker’s far-left online following, has drawn criticism from both moderate and progressive Democrats. Former rivals, including Stevens and Mallory McMorrow, have rightly condemned the association, though some on the far left have tried to deflect by accusing critics of Islamophobia.
Looking ahead to the general election, El-Sayed revealed he had spoken with former President Barack Obama and hoped for his backing, while receiving an endorsement from Kamala Harris, who said, '> Abdul knows we need bold solutions to the crises facing America’s working families, and he is ready to take on this fight.'
The race is expected to heat up as pro-Israel lobby groups plan to spend heavily on advertisements supporting Republican candidate Mike Rogers and highlighting El-Sayed’s troubling ties to Piker, raising serious questions about the Democratic nominee’s judgment and allegiances.