Hasan Piker is a bright, clear red line for Democrats

How far can Democrats go in allying themselves with the far left?

Is the tent big enough for Hasan Piker, a livestreamer many regard as anti-Jewish and anti-American? This question flared up in the past week, before Piker's scheduled appearances Tuesday with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on the campaign trail. Moderates have urged Democrats to shun Piker, citing his offensive views and statements and comparing him to antisemitic far-right influencer Nick Fuentes. Meanwhile, progressives such as California House member and presidential aspirant Ro Khanna have said that the Democrats cannot miss the opportunity to reach potential voters if they want to take Congress and, eventually, retake the White House.

This question matters for those who are not Democrats but strongly believe that the reins of power must be wrested away from the Republican Party in its present form — and that President Donald Trump must be curbed.

Generally, big tents are good and purity tests are bad. But sometimes, a line must be drawn — and in Piker's case, it's a bright and clear red line. It's just as clear for the Republicans with Fuentes.

Piker's defenders say that the accusations of antisemitism are a smear and that he does not belong in the same category as Fuentes, who has openly mocked the Holocaust and denounced the evils of "international Jewry." By contrast, Piker has ostensibly disavowed antisemitism and stressed that his opposition is to Israel, not Jews.

And yet Piker's rhetoric denouncing Israel as a "fascist settler colonial apartheid state" effectively demonizes the vast majority of Jews. He has not only equated even liberal Zionists with neo-Nazis; he has said that in a "just world," anyone who has shown "any sort of positive feelings about the state of Israel" would be excluded from public life. That covers the vast majority of American Jews — including those who are highly critical of Israel's present government and of its war in Gaza.

Piker has described the terror group Hamas as the "lesser of two evils" and expressed sympathy for the Oct. 7 raids on Israel — dismissing the report of rapes committed by Hamas militants on that day as unimportant.

Israel isn't the only subject on which Piker has made vile comments. He has said that America "deserved" the Sept. 11 attacks and gloated at the idea of a repeat of that awful day because of America's involvement in the Middle East. He has expressed enthusiasm for communism, saying that the United States "unfortunately" won the Cold War. He has crudely mocked Vietnamese refugees who spoke of people's suffering under communism.

It's hard to say how much voting power Piker can bring in for the Democrats; while he has millions of followers on social media sites, the audience for his streams on political topics is far smaller. Given his extreme and nasty rhetoric, he might well alienate more viewers than he brings in. And he's more a bully than an ally, refusing to endorse Democratic candidates — including then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 — whom he considers too pro-Israel.

But even if embracing Piker can boost the Democrats, it would also move them in the direction of today's Republican Party — not in terms of actual policies or bills, but of flirting with radicalism and hate and refusing to repudiate odious allies. The opposition's goal for America cannot be just to defeat Trump and his toxic populism. It is to bring decency, sanity and civic solidarity back into American political life.

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a writer for The Bulwark, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.