Hasan Piker is drawing fresh criticism from another Democratic lawmaker as backlash continues over remarks he made during a livestream last week. The latest rebuke came from Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
Ossoff, who is Jewish, was asked recently to respond to Piker’s comments, which appeared to suggest that American Jews could expose themselves to violence by being too closely linked with support for Israel.
In a statement provided through a spokesperson to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Georgia senator said he “unreservedly rejects reckless and dangerous rhetoric suggesting that policy advocacy invites violence against the Jewish community or any community.”
“American Jews and all Americans must have the freedom and security to speak out and petition their government without fear of reprisal,” Ossoff added.
Piker responded to Ossoff’s condemnation by warning of what he called a media “credibility crisis” and seemed to cast the senator as part of a “bought & sold political class.” The reaction marked a sharp turn from Piker’s previous praise of Ossoff, whom he had described as a potential dark horse contender for the 2028 presidential election.
“i think jon ossoff’s best strengths came from his lack of interest in attacking his left flank & focusing on trump’s corruption & scandals instead,” Piker wrote on X. “i said he was a dark horse because he’s been smart enough to back restrictions on weapons transfers to israel at times regardless of his incredibly conservative voting track record otherwise.”
“this is part of the reason why many zionist orgs in georgia that masquerade as jewish advocacy orgs have aggressively condemned the jewish senator at times and still dangle their endorsement over mike collins who has literal white nationalists ties,” he continued.
Piker then turned his attention to the broader wave of criticism that has followed his controversial comments, which have prompted condemnation from multiple Democrats and intensified scrutiny of his rhetoric on Israel and American Jews.
“i just wish people were more truthful about this entire ordeal. the last 48 hr media frenzy is exactly why people don’t trust institutions from corporate media to our bought & sold political class. most of these orgs, and plenty in the media will operate like lapdogs for aipac with no care or consideration for nuance, the truth or how the majority feels about anything,” he wrote.
“this crisis of credibility for msm has been beneficial for me personally as an independent media personality, but i still naively believe that these institutions are worth preserving and defending at a time when we have no consensus reality,” Piker added.
In a separate post, Piker criticized what he seemed to characterize as widespread calls for political figures to condemn him.
“in 3 years we went from ‘do you condemn hamas’ to ‘do you condemn hasan’ and israel is still a belligerent entity that is causing destruction, goading trump into war with iran & prominent dems are focusing on a critic of trump and israel instead of trump and israel itself. fools,” Piker wrote.
Several Democratic lawmakers have issued statements against Piker this week, including Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.; and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; and Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.; Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.; Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.; Brad Schneider, D-Ill.; Greg Stanton, D-Ariz.; and Hillary Scholten, D-Mich.
The condemnations came after Piker told his viewers during a recent stream, “If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews.”
Rosen condemned the remarks as a “new low” for Piker, who she said had been “trafficking in antisemitic tropes for a while.” She went on to say that by “blaming Jewish Americans for the violence and hate they’re facing,” Piker provided “an excuse to those perpetuating these anti-Jewish hate crimes.”
Jeffries said the claim that American Jews were “inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic.”
“There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate,” the House minority leader added.
“We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now.”
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who appeared alongside Piker during his campaign, appeared to distance himself from the streamer as the controversy unfolded, saying that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
“I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate for what they believe without fear of violence. This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past,” El-Sayed wrote on X.
Piker seemed to double down on his comments and went so far as to accuse the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) of being behind the backlash, which he said he welcomed with open arms.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ossoff’s office and Piker for comment.
