Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is raising the stakes for Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed, offering the Senate hopeful up to $100,000 if he hosts a rally about 9/11.
“I’m offering $50,000 for you to do a rally with Hasan Piker on 9/11, the anniversary, and you can all explain to people why America deserved that 25 years ago,” Fetterman said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom on Wednesday.
The left-wing commentator and Twitch streamer’s role as a political influencer has led to his growing popularity among young voters, making him an attractive addition to the campaign trail for Democratic candidates.
However, Piker sparked controversy over comments he’s made that critics have condemned as antisemitic, as well as his views on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) addressed concerns about Piker’s comments on the streaming platform Twitch in a letter to Congress on Oct. 29, 2024.
The letter reads, “Mr. Piker has demonized Orthodox Jews as ‘inbred.’”
“Here is Mr. Piker in his own words: ‘America deserved 9/11.’ The 3,000 Americans incinerated or otherwise murdered in the Twin Towers; the falling men and women plummeting to their deaths from 110-story skyscrapers; according to Mr. Piker, all of them had it coming. They deserved it,” Torres said.
Piker briefly addressed comments about 9/11 on Pod Save America, where he said they were “taken out of context.”
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy addressed concerns of how Twitch handles hate in a blog post on Nov. 1, 2024: “Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen members of the community voice concerns about how we handle potentially harmful content. There is no place on Twitch for racism, hatred, or harassment of any kind, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
El Sayed campaigned with Piker four times, but is now distancing himself from the streamer over increased backlash from Democrats about Piker’s antisemitic views.
“I’m encouraging el Sayed, you know, remind everybody in Michigan who you are, and the kind of people that you stand with,” Fetterman said.
For another $50,000, totaling to a potential $100,00 for el Sayed, Fetterman dared the nominee to “do a rally with your sister.”
“She celebrates publicly after the massacre of 10/7,” Fetterman said.
El Sayed’s half-sister posted a video on the anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel, delivering an “October 7th blessing” on Instagram in 2024.
“I want to say, Allahu Akbar,” she said at the beginning of the video, and did not mention any Jews who were killed by Hamas that day.
“These are the people that he aligns with. That’s the kinds of folks that helped him win the primary now,” Fetterman said.
The general election will be held on Nov. 3.