Two key questions are shaping up in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, and both center on Abdul El-Sayed’s embrace of the accused antisemitic internet influencer Hasan Piker.
(Piker made news in Seattle last week when the University of Washington rescinded an invitation for him to speak. Piker said it was because of his views; the UW said it was because of a flawed planning process.)
First, can a political candidate throw his arms around a hater without being tainted by the hate? And second, why is someone who is as purportedly smart as El-Sayed allowing his relationship with Piker to be a major distraction to his campaign and a potent weapon for his opponent?
Piker is a bad dude. The Anti-Defamation League calls the Twitch personality “one of the most outspoken, virulent antisemite influencers in the world.”
He most famously said America deserved 9/11, a comment he has recently tried to walk back but one that you can bet will be replayed nonstop by Republicans during the upcoming 25th anniversary of that horrific attack. Piker celebrated the terrorism that killed roughly 3,000 innocent Americans by displaying a framed photo of the collapsing Twin Towers as a prop for his podcast.
That’s just the start of Piker’s repugnancy. He has called Hamas, the terror group whose bloody raid on Israeli citizens triggered the Gaza war and led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, “1,000 times better than Israel.”
In comparing the Jewish state to Nazi Germany, Piker said Israel does not have a right to exist. He’s also said Israel invited the Oct. 7, 2023, butchery with its occupation of Palestinian territory, and accused Israel of participating in the murder of its own citizens.
When asked about the widespread sexual violence committed by Hamas during the attack, he said “it doesn’t change the dynamic for me.” By the way, Hamas has as a keystone of its charter the destruction of Israel.
El-Sayed defends Piker — and himself — by saying his expressions are anti-Zionist and anti-Israel, but not antisemitic, even though Piker has called Orthodox Jews inbred hicks and praised attacks that killed civilian Jews in Israel. Critics say his rhetoric normalizes violence and extremism against Jews.
Piker, a Champagne socialist raised by millionaire parents in Turkey, was denied entry to the United Kingdom in June out of fear he might incite disruptions in that country.
Still, El-Sayed, who fancies himself a political genius, keeps inviting Piker into his campaign. The two hung out at a pool partly the night before the primary election. And while he has distanced himself from some of the things Piker has said, he hasn’t denounced the speaker. It’s reminiscent of the struggle President Donald Trump had in clearly distancing himself from an endorsement by the racist David Duke.
El-Sayed is forcing his fellow Democrats into a tough spot. Party stalwarts from James Carville to Sen. John Fetterman have called out El-Sayed for his associations. Democratic officials who stand to offer El-Sayed support risk having to answer whether they’re OK with Piker as well.
Why is El-Sayed risking the negative fallout from an ongoing public relationship with Piker? It could be loyalty. It’s more likely the stubbornness and arrogance so characteristic of the candidate. He doesn’t want to be told what to do.
It’s political stupidity. Suspicion that El-Sayed is antisemitic and a socialist to boot are the major undercurrent of this campaign.
It would be far easier for El-Sayed to convince voters that neither is true if he stopped associating with antisemitic socialists.
It’s more true in politics than anywhere else that you’re known by the company you keep.
