Hasan Piker added to his vault of controversial statements on Thursday, calling the United States “worse” than al Qaeda, the radical Islamist terrorism network that carried out the 9/11 attacks.
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that → add → attacks
Piker said that “pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths, yes,” when asked whether he believes the U.S. is worse than al Qaeda, during the latest episode of The Axios Show.
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U.S. → say → Show
While saying he “doesn’t mean that all Americans are terrorists,” he claimed Washington is responsible for “tremendous terror” all around the world, pointing to the U.S.’s alleged accidental bombing of an Iranian school earlier this year.
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Washington → say → school
The interview was one of at least two that the Twitch streamer sat for this week.
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streamer → sit → that
In an interview with MS Now, Piker addressed his previous comments in which he said the U.S. deserved 9/11, and explained his decision to get involved in politics for the 2026 midterm election cycle.
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U.S. → address → cycle
In the interview with MS Now, Piker emphasized his Marxist worldview as he explained during an interview with the network’s Clock It podcast that he uses such extreme rhetoric in an attempt to flip the narrative on what being a “victim” is, and make more people in the U.S. aware of what he described as a systemic system of oppression that they should rise up against.
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they → emphasize → that
Piker suggested he makes statements such as calling Hamas “a thousand times better” than Israel to make people start thinking, “What would they do in that situation?” and unlock “class consciousness.”
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they → suggest → consciousness
His comment to Axios comparing violence perpetrated by the U.S. to that done by al Qaeda would fit into this narrative as well.
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comment → compare → narrative
“Structural violence and state violence is oftentimes made to be invisible.
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violence → make → ?
So, when Israel, as a state, is operating its normal state functions, and sometimes it can come across as excessive, it’s not seen as violent.
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it → operate → functions
It’s no different than when people protest against police violence and police brutality.
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people → ’ → violence
The brutality of the police is systemic violence, and therefore, it’s normalized.
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it → normalize → police
It’s made to be invisible, whereas when people protest against the police, that is all of a sudden chaotic,” Piker told MS Now.
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Piker → make → MS
In the Axios interview, Piker said the U.S.’s alleged strike on an Iranian school is a prime example of why he engages in such blunt rhetoric.
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he → say → rhetoric
“If you’re killing 140 schoolgirls, that is an act of terror.
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that → kill → terror
This doesn’t mean that all Americans are terrorists, but the reality of the matter is, we have to create an environment of accountability to ensure things like that never happen again,” Piker said.
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Piker → mean → that
Piker’s defense comes as he has gained attention for saying he “would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time,” and backed Hamas as a critical part of the “Palestinian resistance” in Gaza.
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he → come → Gaza
He’s also been repeatedly taken to task over his comment that the U.S. deserved the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade center, which he later said referenced “the fact that all of the foreign policy decisions and our arming of insurgent groups in the region and our efforts in destabilizing the Middle East have a direct consequence, a boomerang effect, rather if you will, in causing 9/11.”
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you → take → 9/11
Why is Piker getting involved in politics now?
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Piker → involve → politics
In the Clock It interview, the Twitch streamer defended his move to become increasingly involved in electoral politics despite backlash over his controversial views, arguing he believes the current political climate is the opportune moment to unlock “class consciousness” in the U.S.
Leading Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) have distanced themselves from Piker.
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Democrats → defend → Piker
Earlier in the campaign season, Piker was campaigning with Michigan Senate Democratic nominee Abdul el Sayed, a political newcomer, and other socialist-leaning candidates across the country.
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Piker → campaign → country
Piker said his goal isn’t necessarily to win over Democrats, but to seize on a chance to carry out his top goal: “To foment class consciousness in America.”
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goal → say → America
In contrast to the dynamic in 2016, people in the Democratic Party now feel “leaderless,” he said, and the electorate overall feels more open to his move to “challenge the sacred cows of American politics” and reverse “clear calcified attitudes that people have about what America represents.”
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America → feel → what
Piker also defended one of his most controversial stances on Israel, as he emphasized that he sees his vocal favorability toward Hamas in Gaza as an opportunity for the public to “internalize” that there is “invisible … systemic violence” in the U.S.
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public → defend → U.S.
He expressed concern that people often don’t see themselves as part of a class system, but instead as “entrepreneurs,” but said the winds are shifting as people recognize “enmity” and being “screwed over … by the forces of capital” is part of “their daily experience.”
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screwed → express → experience
“There’s a famous quote … that I always point to.
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I → ’ → that
‘Socialism will never work in America because the working class do not see themselves as an exploited proletariat, but temporarily embarrassed millionaires’.
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themselves → work → proletariat
And I feel like that’s so perfectly illustrative of the way that many Americans see themselves. …
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Americans → feel → themselves
So, I think that the real way to bring this conversation back to a productive place is to remind people of their class position,” he said.
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he → think → position
“Sometimes you have to you, have to put forth your beliefs regardless of whether or not they are going to be the most appealing, and I think the successes of the pro-Palestine movement in terms of how much of a sea change that has taken place in the American consciousness issue in the last three years is proof of that reality,” he added.
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he → have → reality
“That if you’re steadfast and if you know you have truth and justice on your side, and you continue your advocacy, people will inevitably recognize that perhaps you weren’t wrong all along.”
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you → ’re → advocacy
Piker and Democratic ‘hypocrisy’
Piker sought to drive home the point that his mission is not necessarily about helping Democrats win elections, but rather about more broadly changing the U.S. political dynamic by shifting “very clear, calcified attitudes that people have about what America represents.”
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America → seek → what
“My advocacy is certainly not going to be approachable for many people at first, but my bet on this, my gamble on this, isn’t that I’m doing this just so Democrats can win elections.
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Democrats → go → elections
I’m doing this because it’s true, and I want people to understand, and maybe even entertain a different perspective, even if they don’t fully internalize it and fully understand it,” Piker said.
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Piker → do → it
“I don’t want to just like engage in, you know, branding for the Democratic Party or PR for the Democratic Party.
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you → want → Party
There are issues that I care about that the Democrats are not representing.
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Democrats → be → that
As long as they don’t represent that, I am in opposition to them.”
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I → represent → them
Piker said he sees “hypocrisy” in Democratic circles and accused them of caving to Republicans by distancing themselves from his views.
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he → say → views
“I’m expecting them to tackle the form, tackle the framework, to expose the hypocrisy,” he said.
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he → expect → hypocrisy
“So, when I see Democrats lean in to a Republican-backed messaging campaign to show how wonderful they are, to show how you know, to show how different they are from people like myself, I get increasingly frustrated. …
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I → see → myself
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
