As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks approaches, a column in The Federalist argues that this election cycle has exposed an uncomfortable reality for Democrats: a U.S. Senate nominee from a purple state campaigned alongside a streamer who once said “America deserved 9/11.”
Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, has faced scattered calls to distance himself from Hasan Piker, a popular Twitch streamer known for incendiary commentary. But according to the Federalist piece, those calls—and the vague, oblique disavowals that have followed—allow the Democratic Party to avoid addressing what the outlet describes as a “darker issue.”
The column contends that disassociating from Piker, characterized as a single streamer, is relatively easy. What has proven far harder, it argues, is for Democrats to forcefully and specifically reject his views. “Here, by and large, they have gone mum,” the piece states.
A Broader Ideological Alignment?
The Federalist argues that Piker’s views are not an aberration but rather a reflection of a significant faction within the Democratic coalition. The column points to the Democratic Socialists of America’s 120,000 dues-paying members, public polling, and an incoming class of insurgent “Red-Green” members of Congress as evidence that the left includes countless people who fundamentally see the world as Piker does—even if they express it less crudely or lack his platform.
According to the column, this worldview holds that America is an “evil, oppressive, imperialist nation” that must be punished for its sins. It alleges that this faction believes its highest calling is to effect a left-wing, anti-capitalist revolution, that America’s enemies—including jihadist organizations—are noble “resistance” forces, and that Jews are to blame for various societal ills.
The piece cites recent electoral developments as proof of this trend: Democrats nominating DSA and DSA-adjacent candidates for federal office in states including New York, Florida, and Michigan. It also highlights a Sept. 1 House resolution condemning socialism, which only eight out of more than 200 House Democrats supported.
Establishment Backing of El-Sayed
Perhaps most telling, according to The Federalist, is the Democratic establishment’s backing of El-Sayed himself. The column lists a range of endorsements: former Vice President Kamala Harris (described as a presumed presidential candidate), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, and the Michigan congressional delegation.
The column suggests these endorsements indicate not only that party leaders believe they need El-Sayed to win the Michigan Senate seat and retake the chamber, but that they are ideologically aligned with him.
The piece quotes El-Sayed saying: “The three million people who listen to Hasan are people I want to make sure understand that there’s a pathway into our politics around getting money out of politics so we can get money back in pockets and pass Medicare for All. And so I’m going to continue to have the conversations with those folks who we desperately need to reach out.”
The Federalist interprets this as El-Sayed wanting and needing the Piker vote, and running as a politically acceptable vehicle for their shared worldview—a worldview the outlet claims is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood’s network in America, citing the author’s previous reporting at RealClearInvestigations and Substack.
Democrats and the Piker Faction
The column’s central argument is that the Democratic Party’s warm welcome of the Piker faction—through policy alignment, endorsements, and a reluctance to specifically condemn—illustrates how far what it calls “Islamic supremacist” causes have advanced in America, how “national self-loathing has metastasized,” and how “suicidal sentiments have gripped the American mind” 25 years after 9/11.
At the same time, the column calls out what it sees as a diversion: efforts to demand that El-Sayed and other Democrats denounce Piker, and Piker alone. By focusing on a single streamer, the piece argues, Democrats can dodge accountability for the broader ideological currents the author believes now define the party’s base and much of its leadership.
The Federalist piece concludes with a fundraising appeal for its journalism, describing itself as a truth-seeking outlet that covers American politics, religion, and culture.
For Democrats, the coming weeks will test how they navigate the controversy. With the 9/11 anniversary spotlighting national security and patriotism, Republican operatives are likely to seize on the El-Sayed-Piker connection. How forcefully Democratic leaders respond—and whether they move beyond vague disavowals to reject the specific views attributed to Piker—may shape the broader narrative of the midterm elections.
Source: thefederalist.com — https://thefederalist.com/2026/09/10/democrats-give-a-warm-welcome-to-the-hasan-piker-faction-in-their-party/