Screenshot via Twitch
Highly controversial progressive streamer Hasan Piker demanded establishment Democrats come to his defense this week, warning that the GOP will weaponize him to the detriment of the left as a whole.
“I know we don’t always see eye to eye on a lot of stuff, but you have to, literally, at some point—I know you don’t want to do this—defend me,” said Piker, who has savagely attacked leading Democrats in recent years, including 2024 presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“Not because you love what I have to say, not because I’m a part of this coalition, even though I am, whether you like it or not, but you are going to inevitably have to say, ‘This is a ridiculous conversation that we’re having,’ because the real conversation that Republicans don’t wanna have is the cost of living crisis. That requires you, at some point, to basically take the L a little bit, okay, and maybe be a little more honest about how I’m not this dangerous, toxic, radical force,” Piker argued this week, adding:
I’m not expecting you to defend clips out of context or anything like that. I’m not even expecting you to defend some of these statements at all. I think you should probably attack the form—you should attack the form, you should attack the function.
You should probably attack the very reason as to why Republicans have made this, or are trying to make this, a salient line of attack, instead of just allowing the Republicans to consistently make this the number one fucking issue. Because every moment that the Republicans are talking about this and you’re leaning into it is another f*cking moment where you’re not talking about the issues. And it will actually become a salient narrative, and it will be awful.
Piker, who joined the campaign trail for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, has been a lightning rod of controversy in recent years. He has long raised eyebrows and received condemnation from both sides of the aisle for his bombastic rhetoric, from saying the U.S. deserved 9/11 to minimizing the October 7th terror attacks in Israel to praising China’s government as superior to the U.S. government.
CNN’s Harry Enten broke down recent polling surrounding El-Sayed and warned of his “historic” unpopularity in the state going into the general election against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI). “This is extremely unusual. Again, across the map. Democrats have done such a good job recruiting candidates who are well-liked by the voters,” Enten explained, adding:
Again, I looked at all the Fox News polls. All the Democrats were above water except for Abdul El-Sayed. And he is 13 points underwater. This is all about Abdul El-Sayed being a weak candidate, at least in the minds of the voters.
Hong narrowly lost her primary battle earlier in the week to David Crowley, who has since insisted he will not campaign with Piker.
The post ‘Defend Me’: Hasan Piker Begs Establishment Democrats to Help Him As the GOP Piles On first appeared on Mediaite.
