joerio (@joerio)

🚨 Karl Rove is raising alarms about Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after El-Sayed closed out his primary campaign alongside Twitch streamer Hasan Piker — a figure who once said "America deserved 9/11." Piker, a progressive streamer with over a million followers on X and formerly of The Young Turks, appeared at El-Sayed's final campaign event before the Michigan Democratic primary. He stood beside the stage at a Detroit coffee shop wearing a Democratic Socialists of America baseball cap but did not speak. Rove, former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush, called attention to Piker's 2019 comment that "America deserved 9/11" — remarks Piker later described as "inappropriate" and a poor attempt at satire. Piker has also drawn scrutiny for comments minimizing reports of mass sexual assault during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. El-Sayed — backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — has distanced himself from Piker's remarks, saying he is engaging Piker's audience to reach voters he might not otherwise connect with. El-Sayed held a 15-point lead over Rep. Haley Stevens in a recent Emerson College poll, pulling 54% to her 39%, though a separate EPIC-MRA poll showed former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) leading El-Sayed 46% to 43% in a general election matchup. Is associating with controversial figures worth the tradeoff of reaching new voters? 👇 #MichiganSenate #AbdulElSayed #HasanPiker #KarlRove #2026Midterms #Breaking THESE PEOPLE ARE TRAITORS TO THIS COUNTRY, DEPORT THEM NOW BEFORE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY PAY THE PRICE FOR THEIR EVIL, THEY HAVE NO LOVE FOR THIS COUNTRY OR ITS PEOPLE, DEPORT THEM NOW