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A popular far-left streamer tied the Democratic nominee in the high-stakes U.S. Senate race in Michigan doubled down on anti-American comments he’s made in the past during an on-camera interview released Thursday.
Hasan Piker was featured in an episode of “The Axios Show” taped in Los Angeles, where he resides, where interviewer Alex Thompson recalled the internet personality’s past claim that “America is the top dog in terrorism.”
“Do you think America, then, is worse than al-Qaeda?” Thomspon asked.
Streamer Hasan Piker, left, and Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, center right, take a selfie with young fans following a campaign event, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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“Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” Piker replied. “We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”
“I think that that is not only terror that we are waging on regular civilians, and nations in the periphery, but it’s also having consequences on ourselves,” the Twitch streamer continued. “It’s having dramatic consequences on the home front.”
“One clear example of this is what we did in Minab [Iran],’ Piker said, referring to American attacks earlier this year that struck a school. A United Nations mission said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed a war crime. “There’s no distinction between blowing up a school, tripple-tapping it with Tomahawk missiles. If you’re killing 140 school girls, that is an act of terror.”
Piker conceded that not all Americans are terrorists, but still called for an “environment of accountability.”
Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, talks poolside with streamer Hasan Piker at a party for content creators supporting his campaign Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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Piker is closely tied to Abdul El-Sayed, the controversial far-left U.S. Senate candidate in Michigan. Piker joined El-Sayed on the campaign trail during primary season. The two were pictured partying together on the night El-Sayed ended up winning his primary election.
Since winning the Democratic primary, El-Sayed hasn’t been able to shake Piker’s shadow, and has refused to condemn him for past controversial comments. Instead the candidate has painting him as a “streamer from California” who has no bearing on the race in Michigan in attempts to distance himself from Piker’s more radical views and comments.
Piker said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” He has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be murdered in the streets and is known for making antisemitic comments.
El-Sayed’s campaign responded to Piker’s comments on The Axios Show, but did not mention Piker by name.
Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed waves at Fox News Digital’s before asking a question about whether Hasan Piker will campaign with him as he entered a meeting with Democratic senators at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters. (Hannah Brennan/Fox News Digital)
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“I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaeda], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” the campaign told Axios. “I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”
El-Sayed’s campaign reiterated that statement when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.
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During a trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to meet with potential future colleagues, El-Sayed was caught on camera walking into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). When asked by Fox News Digital whether he would condemn Piker, El-Sayed waved off the question and swiftly ducked into the building where he sat down with Democrat senators.
El-Sayed’s staff later banned Fox News Digital from joining an impromptu post-meeting press event where he took questions and discussed a range of issues key to the 2026 midterms.