Hasan Piker, the controversial, far-left Twitch streamer, has made his way into real-life politics, where his presence is causing a rift in the . Â While some Democrats have embraced Piker and even campaigned with him, others have urged the party to reject the streamer over what they describe as antisemitic and anti-American views.
Recently, Piker has found himself at the center of more controversy as some critics wondered, after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner, whether rhetoric like his was partly to blame. During his Twitch stream on Sunday, Piker addressed those who he saw as condemning him for the assassination attempt and connected the critics to Israel.
“I have noticed that virtually every single person that’s doing this, Hassan is responsible for this shooting, happens to be a propagandist for the state of Israel,” Piker said.Â
The streamer also addressed the would-be shooter’s profile as details about suspect Cole Allen emerged. Piker said that it was “not looking good,” referring to the possibility of the shooter being left-leaning. He then added that “even though 90% of the time [it] is a Trump supporter, all that matters is the one time where it’s not,” claiming that the suspect’s politics would be used as a reason to shut other Trump critics down.
When speaking about the WHCA Dinner shooting and previous attempts on Trump’s life, Piker on Monday agreed with another streamer who said the assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024, was staged.
Days before the WHCA Dinner, Piker made headlines following an appearance on The New York Times podcast “The Opinions.” During the interview, Piker accused slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson of “engaging in a tremendous amount of social murder.” Piker added that people understood why Luigi Mangione allegedly killed Thompson in December 2024.
During the podcast, Piker and New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino discussed the ethics of stealing. In a moment that sparked discussions online, Piker said he was “pro-piracy,” later adding that he was in favor of “stealing from big corporations because they steal quite a bit more from their own workers.”
Earlier this month at Yale, that the American “empire” had to end, and would inevitably fall, likely in violent fashion.
Piker began his daily online broadcasts in 2018 and has since gained a large following, including 3.1 million followers on Twitch, where he streams for several hours on a typical day.
The streamer has called religious Jews “inbred,” defended Hamas as being “a thousand times better than the fascist settler colonial apartheid state,” mocked discussions of antisemitism on college campuses and slammed a listener who criticized Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre as a “bloodthirsty violent pig dog.”Â
Piker also minimized reports of mass sexual assault during the Oct. 7 attacks, according to The Times of Israel, saying it “doesnt matter if f—— rapes happened on October 7. It doesnt change the dynamic for me.”
Piker, who was raised a Muslim, has repeatedly rejected claims he is antisemitic and often says he has used his platform to fight it despite what critics say about his rhetoric.
In one of his more widely criticized moments, Piker said during a stream in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.” After immense backlash, Piker said <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKQGvVsRpaE&t=43s" target="_blan
