Two Democrats addressed the party’s apparent conflict over how to handle Twitch streamer and far-left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker on Sunday.
About a week ago, Politico reported that three potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), wouldn’t appear on Piker’s stream if invited because of his past comments that some view as antisemitic.
“Mr. Piker’s terrible comments about Jewish people, 9/11, and other areas aren’t the kinds of conversations Cory participates in and he will not be joining him on his stream,” one of Booker’s aides told Politico in the March 28 story.
Outrage over Piker began brewing after it was announced he would stump in Michigan with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Democrats and Republicans have both condemned some of Piker’s past remarks, and just last month, Jonathan Cowan, co-founder and president of Third Way, an organization that champions moderate policies, and Lily Cohen, its press adviser, wrote an op-ed calling out Piker for referring to ultra-Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and saying “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel.
On Sunday’s episode of “Pod Save America,” Booker said he hadn’t even heard of Piker until recently.
“Here’s candor: I had no idea who this person was until a few days ago,” Booker said. “I had never heard their name, and I still haven’t heard him speak even. I haven’t heard anything he’s done.”