Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., on Sunday brushed aside questions about left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s comments on Hamas, calling the controversy an “irrelevant distraction” during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Host Kristen Welker pressed Raskin on tensions inside the Democratic Party over Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s association with the polarizing online figure.
During the interview, Welker showed Raskin a clip in which Piker said he would choose Hamas over Israel “every single time,” then asked whether someone with those views fit within the Democratic Party’s broader coalition.
“I don’t even know if Hasan Piker considers himself a Democrat,” Raskin replied. He noted that Piker had criticized him for campaigning in Michigan with Democrats including Callie Barr and Sean McCann, before adding, “I think all of that is an irrelevant distraction.” Raskin emphasized that “obviously, nobody supports Hamas,” describing it as a terrorist organization responsible for the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Republicans, meanwhile, have sought to frame Piker’s visibility among progressive activists and candidates as a warning sign for Democrats. Natalie Baldassarre, the Republican National Committee’s national press secretary, argued that the streamer’s growing political footprint and support for socialist candidates could create problems for the party ahead of the November elections.
“The Democrat Party is being driven off [a] cliff by socialists who are driving blindfolded while arguing about the view,” Baldassarre said in a recent statement to Fox News Digital. She added that unless Democrats “hit the brakes,” candidates across the ballot would be forced to answer for what she called socialist views that would “bankrupt our country” and undermine Americans’ “safety, sanity, and freedom.”
Raskin’s remarks followed his late-August campaign stop in Michigan with El-Sayed, who has continued to draw scrutiny over his relationship with Piker. Some Democrats have moved to distance themselves from the streamer as debate over his rhetoric has intensified.
Piker endorsed El-Sayed and appeared at several campaign events during the Democratic primary. He also restated his comparison involving Hamas and Israel during an April appearance on “Pod Save America.”
“I’ve also said I’m a harm reduction voter. I’m a lesser evil voter, and therefore I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” Piker said in the clip that Welker played for Raskin on Sunday.
Piker has also faced renewed criticism for comments involving American Jews. Fox News Digital reported that he warned on a livestream that if American Jews continued presenting themselves as “singularly invested in Israel,” someone could eventually “take action” against them.
El-Sayed responded to that controversy by stressing that the streamer was not a spokesman for his campaign.
“I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed has nevertheless resisted calls to fully disavow Piker. During a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith, he said his goal was to bring the streamer’s millions of listeners into the electoral process rather than abandon them over disagreements.
“What I’m saying is there are 3 million people who listen to Hasan,” El-Sayed said. “I want to offer them a pathway into an electoral movement.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called the attention devoted to Piker “absolutely ludicrous,” while Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash, said Democrats should engage his audience even if they disagree with some of his views. Other Democrats have urged the party to distance itself from him.
Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
