Progressive Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is set to host a rally at Michigan State University on April 7 featuring Hasan Piker, the far-left streamer who once declared that "America deserved 9/11," alongside Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., and unnamed "special guests," according to a press release.
Piker posted on social media to promote the event. "Get ready. We're coming," he wrote, highlighting that Lee would also be joining.
When asked why the campaign organized the appearance with Piker, the El-Sayed campaign declined to comment.
According to Fox News, Hasan Piker rose to popularity in 2018 through his political commentary and gaming channel. By 2019, he had already cemented his reputation for incendiary rhetoric. He famously declared that America deserved the September 11 attacks, later arguing the U.S. had "brought it on itself." Only after massive backlash online did he walk it back and call the remark "inappropriate."
That was not a one-time lapse in judgment. It was a preview.
In the wake of the deadly October 7, 2023, attack that incited Israel's war with Gaza, Piker described Hamas, a terrorist organization, as the "lesser of two evils" in the conflict. When asked directly whether he supported terrorism, Piker answered:
"No, I don't. I don't support the state of Israel, and I don't support the state of the United States of America."
He also faced backlash for praising the "brave" "mujahideen" who injured Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, who lost an eye serving in Afghanistan. Piker's exact words:
"What the f--- is wrong with this dude? Didn't he go to war and like literally lose his eye because some mujahideen—a brave f---ing soldier—f---ed his eye hole with their d---?"
That is the man Michigan Democrats chose to energize their voters.
Piker is not some fringe figure who wandered into Democratic politics uninvited. He has deep ties to the party's progressive wing. He appeared with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in a video urging voters to participate in elections in 2020. He interviewed Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as part of the senator's "Fight Oligarchy Tour." He has appeared in streaming videos with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on a number of occasions.
Sanders, for his part, offered Piker this endorsement last year:
"You are part of a revolution in media today, which is talking to millions of people who are tuning out of legacy media, and thanks for what you are doing."
A revolution in media. That is how a sitting U.S. senator described the work of a man who mocked an American veteran's war injuries and called a terrorist group the lesser evil. The Democratic establishment does not merely tolerate Piker. It celebrates him.
Most recently, Piker advocated fiercely for the election of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the self-proclaimed socialist, in 2025. El-Sayed appeared alongside Mamdani in New York as well. The networks here are not incidental. They are deliberate. The progressive left is building an infrastructure of media personalities and political candidates who reinforce one another, and figures like Piker serve as bridges between online audiences and electoral campaigns.
According to the press release, the rallies at Michigan university towns are meant to "re-energize voters, young and old, ahead of the 2026 midterms." The press release adds:
"The rallies will highlight the campaign's commitment to economic justice, student debt relief, workers rights and more."
El-Sayed has made affordability and the role of government key pieces of his campaign. He has called for lowering housing costs, advocated for "Medicare-for-all," opposed corporate tax carve-outs, and supported tuition-free access to higher education, according to his website. He has also said he rejects political labels like "right" and "left."
Rejecting political labels while hosting a rally with a streamer who won't say he supports the United States of America is a neat trick. The labels may be gone, but the ideology is right there on the stage.
Michigan will hold its Senate primaries on August 4. Between now and then, Michigan voters deserve to know exactly where El-Sayed draws the line, if he draws one at all. Associating with a figure who said America brought 9/11 on itself, who called Hamas the lesser evil, and who mocked a combat veteran's disfigurement is not a staffing oversight. It is a choice.
Fox News Digital reached out to both Piker and Summer Lee. Neither response was included. El-Sayed's campaign declined to comment.
Silence is its own kind of answer. And right now, it is the only one Michigan voters are getting.