As we reported, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed appeared on Meet the Press with Kristen Welker on Sunday.
He slipped up big time when he essentially admitted that yes, he would be for more taxes on people who earned less than a million dollars. So much for their targeting "billionaires." They will always come for the regular people too.
READ MORE: Whoops: Abdul El-Sayed Slips Up, Makes Revealing Admission About Taxes, Healthcare
El-Sayed also failed to deal successfully with the Hasan Piker problem. He has embraced the radical Twitch streamer, and now he's stuck with that around his neck for the general election, where it is going to hurt. It tends to be a problem if you hang out with a guy who said "America deserved 9/11," and that's just one of the many extreme comments.
Listen here as El-Sayed ducks the question again with that same lame response that he previously gave after the primary: that he's not as focused on who he's campaigning with as who he's campaigning to. What the heck?
NBC: Hasan Piker has said "America deserved 9/11," do you plan to continue to campaign with him?
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2026
EL-SAYED: "I'm less concerned now with who I'm campaigning with..."
NBC: "Would you welcome him though?"
EL-SAYED: "I'm a lot more focused on who I'm campaigning to." pic.twitter.com/2kyYIyNic7
That's a ridiculous response. So Piker says disgusting things, but it doesn't concern him? Does he know what that sounds like? But then he also basically is saying he still wants to reach out to Piker's followers.
But then he continued.
El-Sayed on Hasan Piker: To sit here and play gotcha politics with a dumb thing somebody said out of context…I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do rather than this idea that we're so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020… pic.twitter.com/88OUSzIQLM
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 9, 2026
"Of course, it was a dumb statement," El-Sayed replied, about Piker's 9/11 comment.
"Of course, I think Hasan himself would say that was a dumb statement. He disavowed it. So yes, America didn’t deserve 9/11. But you know, to sit here and play gotcha politics with a dumb thing somebody said out of context that they disavowed themselves — to say, ‘Oh well, what does that mean about what you think?’ I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do, rather than this idea that we’re so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020, but we seem to want to bring back."
That's not just a "dumb statement." We all make dumb statements. This is an evil statement in which no context makes it right. He thinks talking about "context" or talking about cancel culture makes it better? Republicans aren't trying to stop Piker from talking — they're holding El-Sayed responsible for his own actions and his associations.
Piker put up a framed copy of a front-page newspaper story showing the Twin Towers in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack just last month.
As we reported on Thursday, Piker flipped out and called other Democrats "Islamophobic pieces of sh**" simply for saying El-Sayed had work to do to reach out to voters who supported his opponent in the primary.
We keep hearing this from the candidates on the left — they're not supposed to be held accountable for their prior statements or actions (or in this case, their surrogate's statements). They've changed/evolved/no longer think that.
Sorry, not sorry, not buying this tactic.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) also said something similar to El-Sayed's response that they needed to "reach out" to Piker viewers.
AOC dodges when asked if there is room for Hasan Piker in her party.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 9, 2026
ABC: Hasan Piker endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, you've been on his livestream, he's said "America deserved 9/11," should he have a roll in the progressive movement going forward?
AOC: "We have lost young people..." pic.twitter.com/1Qr0WUNsvD
So because Democrats lost young people, they should reach out to extremists? That actually says they don't care; they'll do anything if they think the young people/the numbers can help them get power. Not a good look.
Piker himself capped off the obvious talking points of the day, trying to blame Republicans for "cancel culture."
republicans are the cancel culture party. always have been. https://t.co/zGstVVZJOT
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) August 9, 2026
Again, Republicans aren't trying to stop him from talking — they're just asking if the Democrats are embracing him/what he is saying. It's hilarious that he ducks his comments by trying to attack Republicans. Indeed, the more he talks, the more he probably helps Republicans because it exposes how extreme the Democrats have become.
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Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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