Hasan Piker, a left-wing streamer closely linked to Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, said in a newly released interview that the United States has caused more deaths than al-Qaeda “pound for pound” and amounts to “the top dog in terrorism.”
The comments appeared in an episode of “The Axios Show,” taped in Los Angeles, where Piker lives. Interviewer Alex Thompson asked him directly whether he believes America is worse than al-Qaeda.
“Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” Piker said. “We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”
Piker went on to argue that U.S. military actions abroad have consequences “on the home front” as well. He pointed to American strikes earlier this year in Minab, Iran, that hit a school — an incident a United Nations mission said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe constituted a war crime.
“There’s no distinction between blowing up a school, tripple-tapping it with Tomahawk missiles,” Piker said. “If you’re killing 140 school girls, that is an act of terror.”
Piker stopped short of calling all Americans terrorists but said he wants an “environment of accountability.”
El-Sayed’s ties to Piker
Piker has campaigned alongside El-Sayed and was photographed celebrating with him the night El-Sayed won his Democratic primary. Since that win, El-Sayed has declined to condemn Piker’s past remarks, instead describing him publicly as merely a “streamer from California” with no real connection to the Michigan race.
Piker’s history of inflammatory statements predates this interview. In 2019 he said “America deserved 9/11.” He has also praised Mao Zedong and Communist China, said capitalists should be “murdered in the streets,” and has made antisemitic comments in the past.
El-Sayed’s campaign responded to the Axios interview without naming Piker directly.
“I do not agree with this statement [on al-Qaeda], nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” the campaign said. “I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”
The campaign repeated that statement when contacted again on Thursday.
During a Wednesday trip to Washington, D.C., where El-Sayed met with Senate Democrats, he was seen walking into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters. Asked whether he would condemn Piker, El-Sayed did not answer and went inside. His staff later barred a reporter from an impromptu press availability he held afterward, in which he addressed a range of 2026 midterm topics.
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