Ocasio-Cortez calls focus on Hasan Piker 'absolutely ludicrous' as some Democrats demand distance

A growing fault line is emerging within the Democratic Party over how — or whether — to engage with far-left streamer Hasan Piker, a political commentator whose Twitch audience has drawn the attention of candidates, members of Congress, and party strategists ahead of the midterm elections.

Piker, whose live streams routinely attract millions of viewers, has campaigned alongside several Democratic candidates this cycle, most notably Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed. That relationship became a liability recently when Piker faced public backlash over past and present comments about American Jews and Israel, comments he has defended in interviews with Jewish media outlets.

On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a prominent member of the party's progressive wing, questioned why so many of her colleagues were focused on the streamer at all.

"It is absolutely ludicrous that so much oxygen from sitting elected officials in the United States Congress is being dedicated to discourse around a Twitch streamer for young people," Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington offered a more measured response, declining to defend all of Piker's views but pushing back on the idea that party members must denounce every comment he has made.

"That's for him to do," Jayapal said. "I don't know why, all of a sudden, the standard is you have to agree with everything he said."

Jayapal added that streamers play a meaningful role in drawing younger audiences into political conversation. "I think that we have been talking about how we need to reach out to all parts of our party and also how difficult it is sometimes to get people to pay attention to politics, and, so, streamers are important in that," she said.

Other Democrats have taken a sharper tone. Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey told the outlet that Democratic candidates should not only avoid sharing a stage with Piker but should publicly condemn his views.

"Not only should people not be on stage with him or take his support, they should condemn his views and what he has said," Gottheimer said. "And I think anything short of that is unacceptable."

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, was asked last month on CNN about past statements Piker made concerning the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, remarks the streamer has since walked back. Sanders called the comments "absolutely unacceptable" but said he did not want to engage in what he described as "cancel culture."

"He has a whole lot of followers and a lot of things that he's saying that are making sense to a lot of people," Sanders said. "I think, you know, we have to get above cancel culture. You know, when you're doing radio, whatever they do, podcasts three hours a day, you say dumb things."

El-Sayed, who is running for Senate in Michigan, has tried to thread the needle between maintaining access to Piker's audience and distancing himself from the streamer's more controversial moments. Piker endorsed El-Sayed and appeared at multiple campaign events, including his primary night rally.

In an interview this week with Stephen A. Smith on his show "Straight Shooter," El-Sayed described his outreach as a long-term investment in the streamer's audience rather than an endorsement of Piker himself.

"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 where, rather than sit outside of the electoral system, they see a pathway around the things that they agree with that he says that I agree with and a pathway that disavows the things that I disagree with. And, so, it's important."

Smith pressed him on the distinction, asking whether El-Sayed was focused on Piker personally or simply on his viewership. "So, you're not thinking about him. You're not thinking about him. You're thinking about the 3 million people that support him, and you're trying to get those votes. That's what you're saying?" Smith asked.

"Exactly," El-Sayed replied.

The episode highlighted what some party operatives view as a strategic contradiction. Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff said in a statement that several Democrats are being "rather disingenuous" by treating Piker as either a trivial figure or a meaningful political ally, depending on the audience.

"Yes, media is running wild, arguably disproportionately so, with this Piker story, but a big reason for that is El-Sayed's hard to understand refusal to create more distance between himself and the streamer or just flat disavow him," Shroff said. "You can't have it both ways. Either he is just some random streamer or he is a critical figure for the left's political movement. His refusal to … denounce him suggests the latter, though strategically it seems Piker is more of a liability than a help. Recent polling showed the vast majority of Democrats don't like him."

Shroff also noted that many in the party have consistently criticized President Donald Trump for associating with figures like Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer. "And the reason certain candidates do have the burden to disavow Piker is not because he is some influencer who boosts them. … They have actively sought him out, campaigned with him and joined his streaming platform," he said. "Normal Democrats do not want to be associated with the insane things Piker has said."

The Republican National Committee piled on. Spokesman Max Lippel said in a statement that Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders, and El-Sayed had courted Piker for political advantage and were now trying to sidestep the consequences.

"AOC, Bernie Sanders and Abdul El-Sayed rolled out the red carpet for Hasan Piker, but now that voters are catching on to how insane his views are, they've developed a sudden case of amnesia," Lippel said. "Piker has always been an America-hating extremist, and if they didn't want to answer for his disgusting views, they should have never requested he campaign with them to begin with."

The dispute comes as Democratic strategists continue to debate how the party should approach online political personalities whose audiences dwarf those of traditional media outlets. With the midterms approaching, the question of whether to embrace, tolerate, or repudiate figures like Piker has become an unusually public test of the party's coalition strategy.

Fox News' CJ Womack contributed to this report.