August 26, 2026 • 13 mins
In this episode of the 47 Morning Update w Ben Ferguson , Ben examines the backlash surrounding Hassan Piker's comments about American Jews and Israel, the responses from Democratic leaders, and the political consequences that could follow. They discuss statements from figures including Hakeem Jeffries, Jeremy Moss, and Democratic strategist Joel Rubin, while evaluating how the controversy may affect Democratic candidates and upcoming elections.
Comments by Hassan Piker about American Jews, Israel, and antisemitism have triggered a growing political controversy, prompting public criticism from prominent Democrats and raising questions about his influence within progressive politics. As criticism mounts, Democratic leaders and candidates are being pressed to clarify their relationship with the influential online streamer. The debate has expanded beyond a single viral clip into a broader discussion about political rhetoric, antisemitism, party accountability, and the risks of associating with controversial influencers.
Topics Covered:
- The controversy surrounding recent comments by Hassan Piker about American Jews and Israel
- Public condemnation from Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic figures
- Reactions from Jeremy Moss and concerns about antisemitism
- Questions over Democratic candidates' relationships with influential online personalities
- Renewed attention on past controversies involving Hassan Piker and foreign policy rhetoric
- Potential implications for Democratic messaging and future election campaigns
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And as part of the Great Big Beautiful Bill, we
have massively expanded 529 education saving accounts tremendously, doubling the
annual withdrawal cap from K-12 expenses to $ 20, 000 a year
and allowing families to save the education and money for
education at the private or religious school of your choice
(00:25):
so that's something that never happened before nobody could even
think about doing it they can't believe it's happened now
and now for the first time ever families can also
have their 529 accounts to support homeschool.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Education You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Good Wednesday morning. It is nice to have you with
us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one
big story for you. Hassan Piker's latest comments are sparking
a political firestorm. This time saying that if you are Jewish,
you should be quiet and you certainly shouldn't associate yourself with...
with israel and if you do you're to blame for
(01:04):
anti-semitism and eventually in america well someone's going to come
after you now democrats are being forced to walk away
from hassan piker a little bit we explain exactly what
all he said it is the 47 morning update and
it starts right.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Now Story number one.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yet again, there's another political controversy that is exploding right
now around Hassan Piker. Now, Hassan Piker is one of
the most influential left wing streamers online in America. He
has now made yet again another offensive comment about American Jews.
And now it is forcing Democrats to condemn exactly what
(01:46):
he has said. They're now having to admit that, OK,
maybe he actually is, well, anti-Semitic. And this story matters
for a reason beyond one Internet personality saying something outrageous.
That happens all the time. Hassan Piker has millions of followers.
He has become a extremely influential voice among young progressives
(02:07):
and Democratic politicians have appeared with him. courted his audience and,
in some cases, campaigned alongside him. Now, finally, some Democrats
are scrambling to put distance between themselves and Piker after
his latest comments during a live stream last week. And
that has now gone viral. Piker was discussing American Jews,
(02:31):
Israel and anti-Semitism when he warned that if Jews in
America continue presenting themselves as heavily invested in Israel, quote, Eventually,
someone's going to come around and take action, quote unquote.
Not against Israel, he said, but against American Jews. He
(02:52):
went on to argue that Jews who tie their identity
to Israel are making anti-Semitism worse. So in other words,
if you're Jewish, shut up about it. And if you don't,
someone's going to take you out. And if you like
Israel and you're Jewish, then you're just making anti-Semitism worse.
So therefore, it's your fault that you like Israel and
you shouldn't do that. All of the implications of this
(03:12):
argument are massively anti-Semitic, and even worse than that, they're
calling for violence against anyone that is Jewish in America.
You already have a massive problem with anti-Semitism and threats
against Jewish institutions. They become an enormous concern. And so
now Piker's like, hey, let's double down on that, right?
(03:32):
Let's actually point at the Jews and say they're the
ones responsible. Instead of being the victims, we're going to
say it's your fault that this has happened to you. Now, Piker,
of course, is disputing these interpretations as so many are angry.
He says he wasn't, quote, advocating for violence. He says
he was warning Jews about what he believes could happen
(03:55):
because of political identification with Israel. He has called the
outrage over his comments, quote unquote, a smear. Again, that's
coming from APNews.com. But prominent Democrats are not buying that
defense because they know it is absurd, ludicrous, and you
can't defend this. The House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has
been forced to issue a statement. The malicious claims that
(04:19):
American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and anti-Semitic.
Jeffries added that there is zero justification for threats against
Jewish Americans. Scholten of Michigan went even further, saying she
condemned Piker's talks of violence against American Jews, particularly because
his live stream displayed a photograph of the Michigan State
(04:42):
Senator Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish. She also called the
rhetoric unacceptable and said it had no place in Michigan
or even in America. And Moss himself also fired back,
saying he wasn't going to be lectured by Hassan Piker,
about what Michigan's Jewish community should believe in what Jews,
and that Jews would not be gaslit, quote unquote, into
(05:05):
believing they are responsible for anti-Semitic harm directed at them.
But now comes the political problem. Now, before we get
to that, we're talking literally right now about anti-Semitism, and
it is continuing to rise around the world every day.
And the Jewish people continue to pay the price, from
growing threats against Jewish communities to acts of violence, harassment,
(05:26):
and intimidation. Many Jewish families are living with fear simply
because they are Jewish. Synagogues, schools, and community centers continue
strengthening security as hatred spreads far beyond the headlines. And
that's why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is
working every day in Israel and around the world, providing security,
emergency assistance, food, and critical care for vulnerable Jewish communities.
(05:50):
For more than 40 years, the fellowship has stood alongside
the Jewish people, delivering practical support when it is needed
the most. Hatred, it continues to spread, but compassion and
action can make a world of difference. So I want
you to join us. The International Fellowship of Christians and
Jews and me in doing one simple thing, praying for
(06:11):
the safety of the Jewish people, for peace in Israel,
and for an end to anti-Semitism. Together, we can remind
God's people that they are not alone. If you want
to know what to pray for, you can stand with
Israel in prayer today by visiting PrayIFCJ.org. That is PrayIFCJ.org.
(06:34):
All right, now let's get back to this political problem
for Democrats. The Michigan Democratic Senate candidate nominee, you know
him as El Saeed. He has appeared with Piker over
and over and over again. They're basically best friends. He
uses Piker's online audience to reach young progressive voters. El
Saeed is now having to distance himself for the very
(06:56):
first time from a guy that said that America basically
deserved 9-11. Now, Al-Said said this. Nobody speaks for him
and emphasized his opposition to, quote, anti-Semitism. His Republican opponent,
by the way, former Congressman Mike Rogers, says that's nowhere
near enough. And he's demanding a much clearer break with
(07:16):
Hassan Piker. Even Democratic strategists are warning that Piker could
become a serious general election liability. The Washington Post writing
that this morning. And here's why this controversy isn't occurring
in a vacuum. As I mentioned, Hassan Piker has a
remarkable history of inflammatory statements. Perhaps the most infamous came
(07:39):
in 2019 when he was talking about American foreign policy
in September 11th and Piker said America deserved 9-11. Now,
he went further at the time saying America had, quote,
brought it on ourselves. Sounds an awful lot like what
he's saying now about anti-Semitism and saying, well, the Jews
are bringing it on themselves, right? What's interesting now is
(07:59):
even Joel Rubin, Bernie's 2020 campaign staffer, said this on
TV about the controversy.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
And that's where Hassan Piker needs to go in the
Democratic Party. We need to shame this man, get him
out of our party, get him out of campaigning with candidates,
and make sure that the American people understand that we
have no tolerance for this kind of language.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
So, Joel, does it concern you when you see some
of your leadership within the party or party elders say,
This is all a big tent. You know, I look
at there's some on the right. There's some on the
right that want to be a part of the right.
But I don't want to be a part of their tent.
I won't vote for them. I won't campaign with them.
(08:41):
I won't appear on stage with them.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, Lawrence, I don't want to be in the tent
with the guys trying to kill me. You know, I
am just not interested in that. And there are many
very strongly pro-peace, pro-Palestinian people who belong in that tent.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Now, this is not going to end the controversy, even
if they get rid of him, because there's still too
many Democrats that have stood right beside Piker and have
made it clear they like him. He has also said,
referring to Piker, that he would choose Hamas, a terrorist organization,
over Israel every single time. He's also described Hamas as a, quote,
(09:20):
thousand times better than Israel. Now, remember what Hamas did
on October the 7th. Americans were murdered. Israelis were murdered.
They were slaughtered. Civilians were not only kidnapped, they were
taken hostage and they were brutally beaten, killed and raped.
And yet you have a top Democratic influencer who has
(09:41):
publicly compared Hamas favorably with Israel, who Democrats are still
willing to defend and stand next to. It is a
massive problem. He also not only generate outrage over his
treatment of the atrocities of October the 7th, But CNN
even aired a clip. in which Piker argued that whether
(10:02):
rapes occurred on October 7th did not change his broader
political analysis, adding that the Palestinian resistance is not perfect.
Mike Rogers, who's running for that Senate campaign as a Republican,
had this to say last night at an event.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Al-Said wants to represent Palestine.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I want to represent Michigan.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Al-Said wants to represent Palestine. I want to represent Michigan.
That is the difference in this race. And if you
put all of this together, America deserves 9-11. That coming
from the Democrats. Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel.
That again, coming from the Democrats. Derogatory rhetoric about Orthodox Jews. Again,
(10:56):
coming from the Democrats. And now telling American Jews that
identifying themselves too closely with Israel is making anti-Semitism worse.
That's the definition of victim shaming. and warning that eventually
someone could take action, meaning kill you, against American Jews.
That is the Democratic Party. The record explains why this
(11:19):
latest controversy, well, isn't that big of a deal compared
to the other ones. This is par for the course,
but it now is a Democratic Party problem because Piker
isn't some anonymous person with 200 followers yelling into the Internet.
He's been treated as a legitimate political influencer. Some would
even argue a kingmaker of the Democratic Party. Politicians understand
(11:41):
exactly what he offers them. Millions of young viewers who
are often difficult to reach through traditional television, radio or
newspaper ads. And what creates a very uncomfortable question for
Democratic politicians who have embraced his platform. Where exactly is
the line? If a conservative media personality said American Jews
(12:03):
were making anti-Semitism worse and warned that somebody might eventually
take action against them, Democrats would almost certainly demand that
Republican candidate disassociate themselves from the party. So why is
it that Democratic politicians are looking the other way? It's
because they benefited from this type of radical rhetoric. They
(12:24):
have benefited from Piker's audience, and they are willing to
overlook this if it means they keep their power. To
be clear, Jeffries didn't simply say he disagreed with Piker.
He called the underlying idea dangerous and anti-Semitic. He had
no choice if he wanted to keep his donors, and
many of them are Jewish. But this controversy, it is
(12:48):
going to move forward into the midterm elections. As Joel
Rubin said, Al-Said's buddy, Hassan Piker, we need to shame
this man, get him out of our party, get him
out of campaigning with candidates. I don't think that's going
to happen. I think there's far too many radicals on
the left that love Piker and want him to stay
exactly where he is.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with
Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're
listening to this podcast right now. And for more in-depth news,
also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast. And we will
see you back here tomorrow.
And as part of the Great Big Beautiful Bill, we
have massively expanded 529 education saving accounts tremendously, doubling the
annual withdrawal cap from K-12 expenses to $ 20, 000 a year
and allowing families to save the education and money for
education at the private or religious school of your choice
(00:25):
so that's something that never happened before nobody could even
think about doing it they can't believe it's happened now
and now for the first time ever families can also
have their 529 accounts to support homeschool.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Education You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Good Wednesday morning. It is nice to have you with
us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one
big story for you. Hassan Piker's latest comments are sparking
a political firestorm. This time saying that if you are Jewish,
you should be quiet and you certainly shouldn't associate yourself with...
with israel and if you do you're to blame for
(01:04):
anti-semitism and eventually in america well someone's going to come
after you now democrats are being forced to walk away
from hassan piker a little bit we explain exactly what
all he said it is the 47 morning update and
it starts right.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Now Story number one.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yet again, there's another political controversy that is exploding right
now around Hassan Piker. Now, Hassan Piker is one of
the most influential left wing streamers online in America. He
has now made yet again another offensive comment about American Jews.
And now it is forcing Democrats to condemn exactly what
(01:46):
he has said. They're now having to admit that, OK,
maybe he actually is, well, anti-Semitic. And this story matters
for a reason beyond one Internet personality saying something outrageous.
That happens all the time. Hassan Piker has millions of followers.
He has become a extremely influential voice among young progressives
(02:07):
and Democratic politicians have appeared with him. courted his audience and,
in some cases, campaigned alongside him. Now, finally, some Democrats
are scrambling to put distance between themselves and Piker after
his latest comments during a live stream last week. And
that has now gone viral. Piker was discussing American Jews,
(02:31):
Israel and anti-Semitism when he warned that if Jews in
America continue presenting themselves as heavily invested in Israel, quote, Eventually,
someone's going to come around and take action, quote unquote.
Not against Israel, he said, but against American Jews. He
(02:52):
went on to argue that Jews who tie their identity
to Israel are making anti-Semitism worse. So in other words,
if you're Jewish, shut up about it. And if you don't,
someone's going to take you out. And if you like
Israel and you're Jewish, then you're just making anti-Semitism worse.
So therefore, it's your fault that you like Israel and
you shouldn't do that. All of the implications of this
(03:12):
argument are massively anti-Semitic, and even worse than that, they're
calling for violence against anyone that is Jewish in America.
You already have a massive problem with anti-Semitism and threats
against Jewish institutions. They become an enormous concern. And so
now Piker's like, hey, let's double down on that, right?
(03:32):
Let's actually point at the Jews and say they're the
ones responsible. Instead of being the victims, we're going to
say it's your fault that this has happened to you. Now, Piker,
of course, is disputing these interpretations as so many are angry.
He says he wasn't, quote, advocating for violence. He says
he was warning Jews about what he believes could happen
(03:55):
because of political identification with Israel. He has called the
outrage over his comments, quote unquote, a smear. Again, that's
coming from APNews.com. But prominent Democrats are not buying that
defense because they know it is absurd, ludicrous, and you
can't defend this. The House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has
been forced to issue a statement. The malicious claims that
(04:19):
American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and anti-Semitic.
Jeffries added that there is zero justification for threats against
Jewish Americans. Scholten of Michigan went even further, saying she
condemned Piker's talks of violence against American Jews, particularly because
his live stream displayed a photograph of the Michigan State
(04:42):
Senator Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish. She also called the
rhetoric unacceptable and said it had no place in Michigan
or even in America. And Moss himself also fired back,
saying he wasn't going to be lectured by Hassan Piker,
about what Michigan's Jewish community should believe in what Jews,
and that Jews would not be gaslit, quote unquote, into
(05:05):
believing they are responsible for anti-Semitic harm directed at them.
But now comes the political problem. Now, before we get
to that, we're talking literally right now about anti-Semitism, and
it is continuing to rise around the world every day.
And the Jewish people continue to pay the price, from
growing threats against Jewish communities to acts of violence, harassment,
(05:26):
and intimidation. Many Jewish families are living with fear simply
because they are Jewish. Synagogues, schools, and community centers continue
strengthening security as hatred spreads far beyond the headlines. And
that's why the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is
working every day in Israel and around the world, providing security,
emergency assistance, food, and critical care for vulnerable Jewish communities.
(05:50):
For more than 40 years, the fellowship has stood alongside
the Jewish people, delivering practical support when it is needed
the most. Hatred, it continues to spread, but compassion and
action can make a world of difference. So I want
you to join us. The International Fellowship of Christians and
Jews and me in doing one simple thing, praying for
(06:11):
the safety of the Jewish people, for peace in Israel,
and for an end to anti-Semitism. Together, we can remind
God's people that they are not alone. If you want
to know what to pray for, you can stand with
Israel in prayer today by visiting PrayIFCJ.org. That is PrayIFCJ.org.
(06:34):
All right, now let's get back to this political problem
for Democrats. The Michigan Democratic Senate candidate nominee, you know
him as El Saeed. He has appeared with Piker over
and over and over again. They're basically best friends. He
uses Piker's online audience to reach young progressive voters. El
Saeed is now having to distance himself for the very
(06:56):
first time from a guy that said that America basically
deserved 9-11. Now, Al-Said said this. Nobody speaks for him
and emphasized his opposition to, quote, anti-Semitism. His Republican opponent,
by the way, former Congressman Mike Rogers, says that's nowhere
near enough. And he's demanding a much clearer break with
(07:16):
Hassan Piker. Even Democratic strategists are warning that Piker could
become a serious general election liability. The Washington Post writing
that this morning. And here's why this controversy isn't occurring
in a vacuum. As I mentioned, Hassan Piker has a
remarkable history of inflammatory statements. Perhaps the most infamous came
(07:39):
in 2019 when he was talking about American foreign policy
in September 11th and Piker said America deserved 9-11. Now,
he went further at the time saying America had, quote,
brought it on ourselves. Sounds an awful lot like what
he's saying now about anti-Semitism and saying, well, the Jews
are bringing it on themselves, right? What's interesting now is
(07:59):
even Joel Rubin, Bernie's 2020 campaign staffer, said this on
TV about the controversy.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
And that's where Hassan Piker needs to go in the
Democratic Party. We need to shame this man, get him
out of our party, get him out of campaigning with candidates,
and make sure that the American people understand that we
have no tolerance for this kind of language.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
So, Joel, does it concern you when you see some
of your leadership within the party or party elders say,
This is all a big tent. You know, I look
at there's some on the right. There's some on the
right that want to be a part of the right.
But I don't want to be a part of their tent.
I won't vote for them. I won't campaign with them.
(08:41):
I won't appear on stage with them.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Yeah, Lawrence, I don't want to be in the tent
with the guys trying to kill me. You know, I
am just not interested in that. And there are many
very strongly pro-peace, pro-Palestinian people who belong in that tent.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Now, this is not going to end the controversy, even
if they get rid of him, because there's still too
many Democrats that have stood right beside Piker and have
made it clear they like him. He has also said,
referring to Piker, that he would choose Hamas, a terrorist organization,
over Israel every single time. He's also described Hamas as a, quote,
(09:20):
thousand times better than Israel. Now, remember what Hamas did
on October the 7th. Americans were murdered. Israelis were murdered.
They were slaughtered. Civilians were not only kidnapped, they were
taken hostage and they were brutally beaten, killed and raped.
And yet you have a top Democratic influencer who has
(09:41):
publicly compared Hamas favorably with Israel, who Democrats are still
willing to defend and stand next to. It is a
massive problem. He also not only generate outrage over his
treatment of the atrocities of October the 7th, But CNN
even aired a clip. in which Piker argued that whether
(10:02):
rapes occurred on October 7th did not change his broader
political analysis, adding that the Palestinian resistance is not perfect.
Mike Rogers, who's running for that Senate campaign as a Republican,
had this to say last night at an event.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
Al-Said wants to represent Palestine.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
I want to represent Michigan.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Al-Said wants to represent Palestine. I want to represent Michigan.
That is the difference in this race. And if you
put all of this together, America deserves 9-11. That coming
from the Democrats. Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel.
That again, coming from the Democrats. Derogatory rhetoric about Orthodox Jews. Again,
(10:56):
coming from the Democrats. And now telling American Jews that
identifying themselves too closely with Israel is making anti-Semitism worse.
That's the definition of victim shaming. and warning that eventually
someone could take action, meaning kill you, against American Jews.
That is the Democratic Party. The record explains why this
(11:19):
latest controversy, well, isn't that big of a deal compared
to the other ones. This is par for the course,
but it now is a Democratic Party problem because Piker
isn't some anonymous person with 200 followers yelling into the Internet.
He's been treated as a legitimate political influencer. Some would
even argue a kingmaker of the Democratic Party. Politicians understand
(11:41):
exactly what he offers them. Millions of young viewers who
are often difficult to reach through traditional television, radio or
newspaper ads. And what creates a very uncomfortable question for
Democratic politicians who have embraced his platform. Where exactly is
the line? If a conservative media personality said American Jews
(12:03):
were making anti-Semitism worse and warned that somebody might eventually
take action against them, Democrats would almost certainly demand that
Republican candidate disassociate themselves from the party. So why is
it that Democratic politicians are looking the other way? It's
because they benefited from this type of radical rhetoric. They
(12:24):
have benefited from Piker's audience, and they are willing to
overlook this if it means they keep their power. To
be clear, Jeffries didn't simply say he disagreed with Piker.
He called the underlying idea dangerous and anti-Semitic. He had
no choice if he wanted to keep his donors, and
many of them are Jewish. But this controversy, it is
(12:48):
going to move forward into the midterm elections. As Joel
Rubin said, Al-Said's buddy, Hassan Piker, we need to shame
this man, get him out of our party, get him
out of campaigning with candidates. I don't think that's going
to happen. I think there's far too many radicals on
the left that love Piker and want him to stay
exactly where he is.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with
Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're
listening to this podcast right now. And for more in-depth news,
also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast. And we will
see you back here tomorrow.
Host
Ben Ferguson
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