Hasan Piker said on 'The Axios Show' that America is 'the top dog on terrorism' and answered yes when asked whether the U.S. is worse than al-Qaeda. He said, 'Pound-for-pound, as far as the number of deaths, yes. We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.'
After the backlash, Piker doubled down on X. He wrote: 'Our elites terrorize the entire world while ordinary Americans continue to foot the bill. we spent trillions 'fighting' the terror we created to provide cover for our oil barons stealing 3rd world resources.'
The fallout reached Michigan politics fast. Abdul El-Sayed, who campaigned alongside Piker, said in a statement to Axios that he does not agree with the remark and does not give it much weight. He called Piker a 'social media streamer' and said he was more concerned with 'the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers' that are raising prices for Michiganders.
Mike Rogers, El-Sayed's Republican opponent, has repeatedly tied him to Piker. At a Republican National Committee Midterm Convention event, Rogers called Piker El-Sayed's 'chosen' 'running mate.'
Heritage Action said Piker is 'not an outlier.' Sen. John Fetterman also said, 'I think I've lost to Piker.'
Why it matters: this is a test of how far Democratic candidates will go to keep distance from a loud activist who keeps drawing attention to the party's left edge. The big picture: campaigns can try to split hairs, but voters still see who shows up on stage, who gets defended, and who gets elevated.