Watch: Debbie Dingell Goes Cujo on Reporters Over Hasan Piker Amid Increasing Panic Over El-Sayed

As RedState previously reported, there is a concerted effort underway in certain Democrat circles to try to distance themselves and their candidates from radical, antisemitic Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Michigan Democrats in particular are in panic mode considering their far-left Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed's embrace of Piker during the primary.

For his part, El-Sayed, too, is strategically trying to put some daylight between himself and Piker, recently issuing a canned statement in response to disgusting remarks from Piker suggesting Jews were begging to be attacked for the apparent crime of supporting Israel. Notably, however, El-Sayed did not reference Piker by name in his statement, and didn't say whether he would stop campaigning with him.

When asked about him at a recent campaign event, El-Sayed again referred to Piker as merely a "Twitch streamer" and trotted out a talking point about how Piker has supposedly never been what his campaign is about.

U.S. Sen. candidate @AbdulElSayed (D-MI) on Hasan Piker: "You would think, if you turned on any media, that this whole campaign is about a streamer in California. That's not what this campaign has ever been about." pic.twitter.com/NF6znPab5v

— CSPAN (@cspan) August 26, 2026

The fist bumps, frequent appearances together, including the posh, poolside chat they had on the eve of the Senate primary in early August, and El-Sayed's own prior comments noting he "agrees" with a lot of what Piker has to say would seem to contradict that statement.

On Wednesday, however, tensions about his candidacy boiled over at a campaign event, with Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-06) going Cujo on the media after repeated questions about Piker:

"This is just the opportunity to say something to you, I’m done. This election is about what’s going to happen when we elect Abdul [El-Sayed] to the United States Senate,” Dingell said at a campaign event for El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan. “So don’t any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker; it’s not what November is about.”

“Republicans are trying to make it, they’re trying to divide us, and we got to stop letting them try to divide us. I don’t agree with Hasan Piker on a lot of stuff, and I really don’t agree with him on some of the woman things he said,” she added.

“And we need to win in November, and we will reverse all of the things that they have done,” Dingell said of Republicans.

Bizarrely, she also complimented Piker (again) on his physique in the middle of her unhinged rant.

Watch:

.@RepDebDingell (D-MI) says Hasan Piker is "not what November is about," and that Republicans are trying to divide Democrats over it: "I'm still trying to figure out is it the reason he exercises and looks buff why he has so many followers?" pic.twitter.com/zZLTCHHbTy

— CSPAN (@cspan) August 26, 2026

And on a couple of media appearances she later made, Dingell proclaimed there were bigger issues to talk about than the fact that her party's Senate nominee in Michigan practically engaged in a bromance with Piker during the primary - and still would be had the scrutiny of the relationship not intensified once he won it:

CNN: Why can’t I ask you about Hasan Piker when he has campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed?

DINGELL: “Everywhere I have gone for the last ten days, someone throws a camera in my face, or a phone in my face, and asks me questions…” pic.twitter.com/XHFmRr30zT

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 27, 2026

Debbie Dingell says she’s “tired” of being asked if Abdul El-Sayed should condemn Hasan Piker.

CNN: "Are you satisfied with how El-Sayed has handled this?"

DINGELL: “I’m tired of people trying to drag me into it…” pic.twitter.com/ADQVaUY7NW

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 26, 2026

Here's the thing: For many years, Debbie Dingell has basked in the glow of reporters and political figures alike (including many in Michigan) treating her like the de facto "voice of reason" spokeswoman for the state party, so her meltdowns over constantly being asked about Piker and if she thinks El-Sayed has handled the backlash well ring a little hollow.

Maybe if Dingell had spoken out forcefully against El-Sayed well ahead of the primary, the result possibly could have been different. But in the interest of "muh unity" or whatever, she mostly stayed out of it and didn't make an endorsement, and now, her party has an extremist DSA-backed nominee who hasn't just associated with Piker but who admittedly shares some of his positions on issues like the Israel-Hamas war and hating America.

Democrats didn't build the Piker machine, but their socialist wing coddled it and embraced it, in part for political convenience and in part because there is a lot of agreement. And, to some degree, they've been successful. But the entire party owns this now, and no amount of temper tantrums and foot-stomping after months of refusing to disavow Piker - and the candidates he's helped advance beyond the primary - is going to change that.

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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