On Friday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed defended downplaying Hasan Piker as a streamer from California by saying that Piker “said some things I agree with” and some things he disagrees with and “wasn’t a big part of my campaign. We had him to Michigan once.”
Co-host Joe Scarborough asked, “Hasan Piker, who was in the news again yesterday, you, I think, you were critical of what he said about al-Qaeda and the United States and the comparison. You — though, you have said, though, oh, he’s just a California streamer. He was a California streamer who was actively engaged in your primary campaign. Don’t you think that’s disingenuous just to call him, like, a California streamer when you know the guy, you campaigned with the guy, he was a big part of your campaign?”
El-Sayed answered, “He wasn’t a big part of my campaign. We had him to Michigan once. People, in the course of a campaign — and you know this, Joe — will have conversations with all kinds of people. And, to me, it’s really important, not just to have a conversation with an individual. I’m on your show, Joe, because I want to talk to the audience who’s watching you right now. And the problem in our democracy, too often, is we say who we cannot talk to, rather than asking, how do we bring these folks back into an electoral fold? He said some things I agree with –.”
Scarborough then cut in to talk about how Ronald Reagan dealt with members of the John Birch Society and state that he understands having support from people who you don’t agree with completely, and then asked, “I’m just saying, if you just call him a California streamer, that seems to minimize what he did in the primary. That’s the only thing I’m asking you. Do you think that minimizes that?”
El-Sayed responded, “Here’s my issue: At the end of the day, right? He is a streamer in California. And the issue that everybody’s focused on, as we talked about, is the price of gas and groceries in Michigan. Meanwhile, you’ve got a guy like Mike Rogers, who literally goes to Dallas instead of showing up to a debate in Detroit, to campaign with Donald Trump, who, not only says crazy stuff every day, but does crazy stuff that costs you money, the tariff war, the war in Iran. And so, it’s frustrating to me that I never hear about Hasan Piker on the doors. I never hear about him outside of conversations that are –.”
Scarborough then cut in to agree with El-Sayed.
Later, El-Sayed said that in order to go everywhere and reach people who follow certain personalities or channels, “you’ve got to speak through that channel or that creator, and that puts you in positions where you might be having a conversation mediated by somebody who’s said things you disagree with, whether that’s Jesse Watters or Hasan Piker. And so, I just go everywhere and talk to everyone.”
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