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Controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker is calling on Democrats to ensure that those who do not support Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed face consequences for not holding the party line.
“There are haters in our ranks. Notice how whenever someone comes out and says, ‘Yeah that’s actually a bad association,’ immediately it’s weaponized by the Republicans,” he said Thursday while reacting to a clip of Fox News’ Bill Hemmer interviewing former Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.
“You can’t be out here saying like, ‘Oh, I’m a centrist Democrat. And I think Abdul is a bridge too far.’ That must be punished.”
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker faced renewed scrutiny after viewers spotted a framed newspaper front page from Sept. 12, 2001, in his background. (Sam Barnes/Web Summit via Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Piker, a socialist, went on to argue that the Democrats should use “Marxist-Leninist” punishment against those who do not “follow the party line.” He acknowledged that it was appropriate for Democrats to debate amongst themselves until a winner is declared.
The controversial Twitch streamer’s statement came just two days after El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination, narrowly defeating Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the primary. Piker appeared on the campaign trail with El-Sayed, who is set to face off against Republican nominee Mike Rogers in November.
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker appeared on the campaign trail with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
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Piker’s call for punishment sparked backlash among some Democrats, including Center for American Progress President and CEO Neera Tanden, who served under former President Joe Biden. She warned that Piker’s rhetoric could alienate voters.
“It’s hard to imagine a bigger turnoff to swing voters than this guy. My free advice to the AES campaign is to get him to shut up about your race,” Tanden wrote on X.
In response to the stream clip, Project Liberal co-founder Joshua Eakle noted that Piker refused to endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election. Eakle slammed Piker, claiming that the Twitch streamer was using “authoritarian language” and was seeking to “make the Democratic Party no different from the MAGA cult around Trump.”
Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville, a critic of Piker, told Fox News Digital this week that the party will have to decide in the 2028 primary which direction it’s going.
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Hasan Piker is facing backlash after urging Democrats to punish party members who do not back Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Piker hit back at Eakle, saying, “koch payroll ‘liberal’ mad that i think dc establishment ‘democrats’ that work with maga are irredeemable and must be excised from the party ranks, wonder why?”
This is not the first time Piker criticized El-Sayed’s opponents and urged Democrats to get behind the Senate candidate. After the Michigan Democrat’s victory, Piker said those who suggested El-Sayed had “a f—- ton of work to do mending bridges” were “unbelievably Islamophobic pieces of s—.”
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“You literally called the dude a f—ing terrorist for months on end and, like, called him a sexist, misogynist, terrorist, bad candidate, fake doctor, when he has two f—ing degrees. And now you’re going to say sit there and be like, ‘Well, you know, you really got to come to me now.’ What are you talking about?” Piker said.
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Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign and Piker for comment.