<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/michigan/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michigan</a> Senate Democratic nominee <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/abdul-el-sayed/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abdul el Sayed</a> defended Hasan Piker on Monday after distancing himself from the Twitch streamer due to concerns regarding antisemitism.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">El Sayed campaigned with Piker multiple times before winning his party’s nomination in the state’s Aug. 4 primary. Facing criticism from centrist Democrats regarding his association with Piker, el Sayed stated on Aug. 26 that he had “<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/4702216/el-sayed-no-plans-campaign-hasan-piker/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">no plans</a>” to appear with Piker.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During a recent appearance on <em>The Breakfast Club</em>, el Sayed defended Piker amid growing controversy over the Democratic Party's alignment with him. He noted that other politicians, including New York City Mayor <a href="https://www.jta.org/2026/03/31/ny/before-he-hit-a-passover-seder-zohran-mamdani-shared-an-eid-dinner-with-hasan-piker" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zohran Mamdani</a> and House candidates Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, have also shown support for Piker.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“They’re trying to equate him and David Duke and him and Nick Fuentes,” el Sayed said, referencing the neo-Nazi leader and right-wing activist. “The fact that they’re working so hard to character assassinate him suggests that there is a disjunct there between what he’s actually saying and what people hear him saying who actually pay attention.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">El Sayed described the concerns about Piker as part of “cancel culture” and expressed agreement with Piker on several issues, stating, “People deserve healthcare. We shouldn’t be fighting dumb wars. The war in Iran is ridiculous. Donald Trump is a fascist. All true.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Piker has faced bipartisan scrutiny for his views on Jews and Israel. Prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, have distanced themselves from him.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concerns about Piker stem from his comments regarding the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, where he downplayed violence against Jews and stated he “would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” calling Hamas “a thousand times better” than Israel.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Earlier this month, Piker reiterated his support for Hamas as part of the Palestinian “resistance” in Gaza. In an interview on Channel 4 News UK’s <em>TrumpWorld</em>, he stated he didn’t “love” Hamas but viewed their current position as more moderate than in the past.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Piker has also faced scrutiny for a 2019 statement suggesting the United States “deserved” the 9/11 attacks, which he later clarified was taken out of context.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Of course it was a dumb statement, and of course I think Hasan himself would say that was a dumb statement,” el Sayed remarked. “But to sit here and play gotcha politics with a dumb thing somebody said out of context that they disavowed themselves — to say, ‘Oh well, what does that mean about what you think?’”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">El Sayed concluded by emphasizing the need for accountability in political discourse, stating, “I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do, rather than this idea that we’re so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020, but we seem to want to bring back.”</p>