Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) said Wednesday she is praying that progressive streamer Hasan Piker won’t visit Michigan in the final stretch to Election Day.
Piker, whose inflammatory comments about American Jews have drawn condemnations across the aisle, has been a frequent flyer on the campaign trail and appeared with Michigan Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed before the state’s primary elections.
But Dingell told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer she doesn’t want to see him campaign in Michigan ahead of the general election, and that she is “tired of people trying to drag me into” the controversy surrounding Piker.
“I strongly disagree with many of the things that Hasan Piker said, from Israel to, quite frankly, if you’re a woman who has fought against sexual violence and domestic violence her whole life, what he has said about rape, et cetera, is simply inexcusable,” Dingell said.
“I pray we’re not going to see him in Michigan from now until the election,” she added.
Piker sparked outrage among Democrats after saying last week that “eventually, someone is going to come around and take action … against American Jews” if they “keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel.”
Dingell said during her appearance that it is on el Sayed to make it “very clear to people that he doesn’t agree with things that Hasan Piker says.”
El Sayed distanced himself from Piker’s most recent comments in a statement this week that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” but he did not fully condemn the streamer. He would not say if he planned to campaign with him earlier this month.
He continued, “And while politicians and pundits try to make this race about a Twitch streamer, we’re going to be talking about gas, groceries, good schools, and healthcare. Because that’s what Michiganders keep asking about.”
Dingell, who is seeking her seventh congressional term, argued that many of Piker’s views are “just wrong,” and the election will be about “being able to reverse the healthcare cuts that we’ve had in this country, the millions of Americans that don’t have healthcare right now, the kids that are already going hungry, and seniors because we’ve cut the SNAP program, and we have to elect somebody that is not going to be a rubber stamp to the Trump policies we have seen the last two years.”
Still, Dingell noted she doesn’t “understand some of the followers and why they follow people, and I got in trouble when I said maybe it’s generational.”
The Michigan congresswoman has not campaigned with Piker, but did attend a campaign event headlined by Piker and el Sayed back in April to get a sense of el Sayed’s momentum, according to the Associated Press.
At the time, Dingell noted she hadn’t “seen that many people outside an event yet this year,” but appeared to be unconvinced of the movement’s longevity, telling the outlet she would be following the outcome of the primary election to see if the progressive’s message connected with voters.
“Is it something for the kids to do, or is it going to connect?” she said.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Piker for comment.