"The Axios Show": Piker thinks El-Sayed is making a "mistake"
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Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker thinks Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee, is making a political "mistake" by distancing himself from Piker but also understands he has become a lightning rod in a tight election.
Why it matters: El-Sayed's past association with Piker has become a persistent and irritating issue for El-Sayed, who campaigned with the streamer during a contentious primary that he ultimately won.
- But the latest controversy involving Piker — his telling Axios that "pound for pound" the U.S. is worse than al-Qaeda — is giving El-Sayed's critics fresh ammunition.
- Republicans have hammered El-Sayed over campaigning with Piker, with GOP-aligned groups spending nearly $3 million on ads attacking their association, according to AdImpact.
- That spending came before Piker told Axios' Alex Thompson that the U.S. was worse than al-Qaeda when comparing the number of deaths each had caused.
Driving the news: In the Axios interview, Piker suggested that El-Sayed erred in trying to distance himself from the streamer.
- "I think he is making a mistake with taking ownership over something that I think most voters understand is insincere," Piker told Axios.
- Piker on an Aug. 20 livestream called the idea "that Jews are monolithic" in their support of Israel "a very dangerous mode of propaganda" and suggested that American Jews could face violence for putting "this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel."
- That prompted El-Sayed to issue a statement calling antisemitism "a scourge" and attesting: "My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters.… I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk."
- "I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople," El-Sayed added.
Zoom in: Piker also downplayed the possibility of returning to the campaign trail for El-Sayed in his race against former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.).
- "I think that he is trying to take advantage of the short period of time that's remaining in the next 40-plus days to just move away from this issue to the best of his ability," Piker said.
- "Because every moment that you're talking about a Twitch streamer from California is a moment where you're not talking about the cost-of-living crisis, a moment where you're not talking about gas prices," he added. "And Republicans know that."
The other side: El-Sayed has repeatedly been pressed about his relationship with Piker, including most recently in an MS Now interview with Joe Scarborough on Friday morning.
- El-Sayed again sought to downplay their relationship.
- Scarborough pushed back on that characterization, asking "Don't you think it's disingenuous just to call him, like, a California streamer when you know the guy, you campaigned with the guy, he was a big part of your campaign?"
- "He wasn't a big part of my campaign. We had him to Michigan once," El-Sayed said. El-Sayed's office didn't respond to a request for comment for this article.
Go deeper: Watch the full episode of "The Axios Show," including the exchange in which Piker told Alex Thompson "Pound for pound," the U.S. has "caused tremendous terror all around the world."
