Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) characterized left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker's pro-Hamas statements as an "irrelevant distraction" that will not influence the midterm elections.
Piker, a Twitch streamer with over 50,000 subscribers and 3.1 million overall followers, drew condemnation from Democrats after saying he "would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time." The comments revived tensions within the party over Israel policy following Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) publicly denounced Piker and withdrew her endorsement of Abdul el Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's open Senate seat, citing el Sayed's association with the commentator. El Sayed, seeking to challenge former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in November, has distanced himself from Piker though the two shared campaign events during the 2026 primary cycle.
Asked on NBC News's "Meet the Press" whether Piker should be considered part of the Democratic Party, Raskin said he was unsure if the Twitch streamer "considers himself a Democrat." Piker had previously criticized Raskin for campaigning with el Sayed and other Democratic candidates in Michigan.
Raskin said Piker's remarks constituted an "irrelevant distraction" and emphasized that "nobody supports Hamas, a terrorist organization which brutally attacked Israel on Oct. 7." He also noted that Democrats do not support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies, but said the issue would not be resolved before the elections.
The House Democrat argued Democrats should focus the midterm campaign on President Donald Trump and his administration's policies. Democrats are working to regain the House, where Republicans hold a narrow majority, and to secure a Senate majority.
Piker, a self-described socialist, has drawn accusations of antisemitism from both parties for critical statements about Israel and Jewish Americans. He has said Israel is worse than Hamas and that America deserved the Sept. 11 attacks—a comment he later said he regretted and wished he had explained better. Piker previously asserted that if Palestinians were integrated into Israeli security, they would no longer need Hamas.
