Raskin calls Piker’s rhetoric 'irrelevant distraction' after the streamer said he'd vote for Hamas over Israel
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., dismissed scrutiny of far-left streamer Hasan Piker's rhetoric about Hamas as an "irrelevant distraction" Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," as host Kristen Welker pressed him over Democratic divisions surrounding Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's relationship with the controversial online personality.
Welker played Raskin a clip of Piker saying he would vote Hamas over Israel "every single time" and asked whether the Democratic Party’s tent was large enough to include the streamer.
"I don’t even know if Hasan Piker considers himself a Democrat. I know he attacked me for campaigning with Callie Barr and Sean McCann and other Democrats in Michigan. I think all of that is an irrelevant distraction," Raskin said. "Obviously, nobody supports Hamas, a terrorist organization which brutally attacked Israel on Oct. 7."
Natalie Baldassarre, national press secretary for the RNC, pointed to Piker’s growing role in Democratic politics and his support for socialist candidates as she warned that his influence could become a broader liability for the party heading into November.
"The Democrat Party is being driven off [a] cliff by socialists who are driving blindfolded while arguing about the view," Baldassarre said in a recent statement to Fox News Digital. "Unless Democrats hit the brakes, every candidate on the ballot will have to answer for socialists’ outrageous beliefs that will bankrupt our country and strip every American of safety, sanity, and freedom."
Raskin's comments came after he campaigned alongside El-Sayed in Michigan in late August. El-Sayed has continued to face questions over his ties to Piker as some Democrats have publicly distanced themselves from the streamer.
Piker, who endorsed El-Sayed and appeared at multiple campaign events during the Democratic primary, reiterated his comparison between Hamas and Israel during an April appearance on "Pod Save America."
"I’ve also said I’m a harm reduction voter. I’m a lesser evil voter, and therefore I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time," Piker said in the clip played for Raskin on Sunday.
Piker has also faced renewed criticism for comments involving American Jews. Fox News Digital reported that he warned on a livestream that if American Jews continued presenting themselves as "singularly invested in Israel," someone could eventually "take action" against them.
HASAN PIKER INSISTS ABDUL EL-SAYED ASKED HIM TO 'STUMP' FOR MICHIGAN CAMPAIGN AMID BACKLASH
El-Sayed responded to that controversy by stressing that the streamer was not a spokesman for his campaign.
"I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople," El-Sayed said.
El-Sayed has nevertheless resisted calls to fully disavow Piker. During a recent interview with Stephen A. Smith, he said his goal was to bring the streamer's millions of listeners into the electoral process rather than abandon them over disagreements.
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"What I’m saying is there are 3 million people who listen to Hasan," El-Sayed said. "I want to offer them a pathway into an electoral movement."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called the attention devoted to Piker "absolutely ludicrous," while Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash, said Democrats should engage his audience even if they disagree with some of his views. Other Democrats have urged the party to distance itself from him.
Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.