Raskin Dismisses Hasan Piker Hamas Furor as 3 Million-Listener Influence Roils Democrats
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 6
Raskin Dismisses Hasan Piker Hamas Furor as 3 Million-Listener Influence Roils Democrats
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 6
Summary
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Jamie Raskin called scrutiny of Hasan Piker an "irrelevant distraction" after Kristen Welker aired a clip of the streamer saying he would "vote for Hamas over Israel every single time."
Raskin said "nobody supports Hamas," but sidestepped whether Democrats should include Piker, whose rhetoric has become a flashpoint around Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed after Raskin campaigned with him in late August.
El-Sayed has said only he and his staff speak for his campaign, yet he has resisted fully disavowing Piker, arguing the streamer reaches 3 million listeners he wants to draw into electoral politics.
The dispute has exposed a wider Democratic split: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Pramila Jayapal urged engagement with Piker's audience, while other Democrats and the RNC cast his growing role as a political liability heading into November.
When institutions cancel speaking events for inflammatory internet personalities, does it protect the community or inadvertently amplify the controversial figures?