Senate Debate with Piker Gains Far-Left Support Amid Criticism
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Since the debate with Kirk in 2018, Piker has gained fame among the far-Left, and he has even been embraced by some in the Democratic Party, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). This year, Piker has campaigned with Democratic House and Senate candidates in New York and Michigan, including Michigan Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is hoping to become the first Muslim U.S. senator.
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Washington ExaminerEarlier this month, el Sayed won the Democratic primary for the Senate in Michigan in a head-to-head matchup with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). The nominee now turns his attention to November, when he will face former Michigan Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, whom Trump endorsed.
Fox NewsThat appears to be giving Republican nominee and former Rep. Mike Rogers more ammunition to court Democrats uncomfortable with some of El-Sayed's controversial past comments and far-left policy positions. Democrats must hold the swing state seat as part of their uphill climb to win back the Senate majority from the GOP.
The HillStevens says ‘it certainly makes sense’ for El-Sayed to end affiliation with Piker Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) on Sunday said “it certainly makes sense” for her former Michigan Senate race opponent, Abdul El-Sayed (D), to end his affiliation with popular left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing” co-host Jacqui Henrich asked Stevens if she would call on El-Sayed, a progressive, to moderate his views on…
VoxHasan Piker has for years now been both an asset and a liability for Democrats. The Twitch streamer has elevated base-energizing progressives, such as Darializa Avila Chevalier and Zohran Mamdani, in interviews and with endorsements. But he’s also stoked controversy with past anti-Israel commentary and generally caused headaches for establishment Democrats who would rather not see Hasan’s favored candidates get any more oxygen.
RealClearPoliticsHasan Piker should not be silenced. The radical leftist influencer has burst onto the political scene as a self-styled Marxist kingmaker and viewpoint enforcer.
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“Hasan Piker defense bingo card: It’s a joke, satire, hyperbole It’s out of context It was years ago English is my second language I stream for hours Bad faith clipping Smear campaign Critics are being paid by Israel,” she wrote in the post. She later shared what appeared to be a bingo card with her assessment:
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Fox News"Hasan Piker defense Bingo card: ‘It’s a joke, satire, hyperbole. It’s out of context. It was years ago,’" Watts said in her post. "’English is my second language. I stream for hours. Bad faith clipping. Smear campaign. Critics are being paid for Israel.’"
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In response to her post, Piker said, “All of that is true & valid. you behave as a gop operative. aipac is worse than the nra and funded by the same maga billionaires and you’re still attacking its critics because you’re a shameless grifter who doesn’t care about the dem senate majority or punishing trump.”
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Fox NewsIt didn’t take long for Piker to fire back — even as he admitted the pattern. "All of that is true and valid. You behave as a GOP operative. You’re a shameless grifter who doesn’t care about the Dem Senate majority or punishing Trump," Piker wrote.
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Their exchange highlighted the fact that some Democrats were uncomfortable with his extreme comments, posts, and videos.
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Fox NewsWatts’ online clash with Piker showcases the concern some Democrats have shown over comments, posts and videos that have resurfaced among progressives.
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Piker recently said he “should have phrased things better” while discussing his viral comments about America deserving 9/11, Breitbart News reported Thursday.
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Fox NewsIn 2019, Piker famously said that "America deserved 9/11," arguing later that the U.S. had "brought it on itself." He would later walk it back and call it "inappropriate" after massive backlash online.
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Could El-Sayed Cost Democrats Michigan? Not all progressives are equal: Candidates of the activist left typically don’t perform as well as other Democrats.
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VoxWhy? A familiar concept for these kinds of centrist Democrats: electability. That concept has been on many left-leaning voters’ minds over the past few weeks, as primaries have put progressive candidates to the test — with very mixed results. Last week, Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate and democratic socialist Francesca Hong lost her primary to establishment favorite David Crowley. Not long before that, though, progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed won his primary against the more mainstream Democratic candidate, Rep. Haley Stevens — albeit by a much smaller margin than many polls predicted.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 The Hill Sunday shows preview: Key primary races set stage for tight November battles, Democrats raise concerns over USS Lincoln conditions Key primary races in Minnesota and Wisconsin this month set the stage for tight battles in November as both parties seek to expand their hold in Congress. Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in Michigan’s tightly-contested Democratic Senate primary two weeks ago.  Stevens was quick to endorse El-Sayed in the…
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02 Fox News Shannon Watts, a Democratic political operative and gun control activist, torched a rising progressive kingmaker on Friday, accusing him of trying to brush off his past controversial comments online.
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03 Washington Examiner Michigan Democrat Abdul el Sayed taunted President Donald Trump for recently posting a photo that contrasts the first couple with the progressive candidate and his wife.
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04 RealClearPolitics Why Don't Lefties Do Better Among Working-Class?
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05 Breitbart A Democrat political operative has accused Marxist Hasan Piker, who wore a suit styled after Chinese dictator Mao Zedong, of trying to downplay his controversial comments.
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06 National Review El-Sayed Shouldn’t Blame Muslim America for His Radical-Islam-Curious Views The Michigan Senate candidate and his defenders are wrong to imply that his views and statements are uncontroversial among his fellow Muslims.
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07 The Daily Wire A nearly eight-year-old clip of Charlie Kirk ripping Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s communist dream went viral on social media again this week.
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08 HuffPost In 2018, when Wisconsin Democrats needed a candidate for a must-win gubernatorial election, they turned to Tony Evers, a then-66-year-old veteran education administrator who was in his third term as the state’s schools superintendent. Evers, soft-spoken and cautious, was considered a safe bet for what would be a bruising election against incumbent Gov. Scott Walker (R).
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09 Vox America, Actually host Astead Herndon caught up with Piker to talk about whether the recent primary results have refined his understanding of how prepared Americans are to vote for democratic socialists, what support for unabashedly progressive candidates tells us about the changing working class in America, and the “pundit brain” problem in the Democratic Party.
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