Hasan Piker said the United States has caused more terrorism around the world than al-Qaeda “pound for pound,” prompting Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to reject the comparison.
“I do not agree with this statement, nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer,” El-Sayed said in a statement to Axios. “I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”
Piker made the remarks in an exclusive interview with “The Axios Show” published Thursday. When asked whether America commits more terrorism than the organization behind the Sept. 11 attacks, he answered, “Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes.”
“We have caused tremendous terror all around the world,” Piker added. The left-wing Twitch streamer cited a U.S. missile strike that hit an elementary school in Minab, Iran, earlier this year.
“If you’re killing 140 schoolgirls, that is an act of terror,” Piker said. “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.”
The Associated Press found evidence that at least one U.S. missile struck the school. The Trump administration has not released the findings of a Pentagon investigation, and the exact death toll remains unknown.
Piker’s support for El-Sayed during Michigan’s Democratic primary has become a recurring line of attack for Rogers, the state’s Republican Senate nominee. GOP-affiliated groups have spent nearly $3 million on ads targeting El-Sayed over the association, according to AdImpact data reported by Axios.
Many of those ads feature Piker’s 2019 remark that “America deserved 9/11.” Piker apologized for the wording and has described the attacks as “blowback” from decades of U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
“This doesn’t justify the action, mind you,” Piker told Axios. “This is more so analysis to stop further violence from taking place, both violence in the region, but also violence in the home front as well.”
El-Sayed defended engaging with Piker during a Fox 2 Detroit debate Tuesday, citing the streamer’s audience of roughly 3 million people.
“The reason I talk to Hasan isn’t because of Hasan, it’s because of the 3 million people who pay attention to what he has to say,” El-Sayed said. “Too often, the way that our politics happen is that we’re told who we cannot talk to.”
