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Twitch streamer Hasan Piker admitted on Friday that he has “dialed down” his commentary since facing backlash for taking part in Democratic candidates’ campaigns.
Piker discussed the ongoing controversy surrounding his past statements with “Pod Save America” co-host Jon Lovett, particularly after his Axios interview last week in which he described America as “pound for pound” worse than al-Qaeda on terrorism.
The progressive commentator argued that many of his comments are taken “out of context” or taken from a longer statement but added that, more recently, he has begun to think about what he says and tone down his rhetoric.
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Hasan Piker has made several controversial statements, such as claiming that America was worse than al-Qaeda on terrorism. (Sam Barnes/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images)
“There’s also the third thing, which is like actual positions that I hold, actual opinions that I have that are unbelievably antagonistic to those in positions of power, that when they hear that, they like lose their minds,” Piker said. “They don’t know how to deal with it. And when I’m faced with a question like that, I have to in my mind make this calculation of: Should I be honest about what I believe? Should I take a principled stance on something, or should I portray myself as a campaign surrogate and act as though I am running for office?”
He continued, “And I’ve definitely dialed down. I know it doesn’t seem like it. And I’ve definitely dialed down my commentary with that in mind for sure.”
Piker did not clarify what opinions he has softened but suggested that the backlash against him is largely because Republicans “don’t really have a good midterm message.”
“Just because it’s their most successful narrative doesn’t mean that it’s going to be successful in winning elections for them. And I don’t think it will be successful in winning elections for them at all,” Piker said.
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Twitch streamer Hasan Piker has frequently appeared on the campaign trail with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
He added, “Because look, I’ve gone all up and down the country. I have fans in many places all around this beautiful country. And you know, there’s obviously a lot of Republicans that don’t like me and maybe even some liberals that don’t like me, but by and large, the idea that a Twitch streamer is supposed to be held to a higher standard than the president is such an insane phenomena that it could only be concocted by a bunch of out-of-touch people in mainstream outlets that think this is a salient narrative that will definitely work because people don’t care.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for comment.
Piker has garnered nationwide attention after campaigning with Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during the primary election. Since winning the Democratic primary, El-Sayed has attempted to distance himself from Piker, repeatedly referring to him as a “streamer from California” with no relevancy to the race despite their multiple past appearances.
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Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin has denounced Hasan Piker for his comments in a recent Fox News Digital interview. (Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Other Democratic figures have largely come out against Piker as he continued to make controversial comments, such as suggesting that Jewish Americans were bringing violence upon themselves based on their support for Israel.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin himself distanced his party from Piker and his “deplorable” comments during an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
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“Let me just say that I think it’s absolutely disgusting and deplorable the things that Hasan Piker has said,” Martin said. “But he does not represent the Democratic Party, and he certainly doesn’t represent the viewpoints of almost every one of our candidates and our elected officials.”