The Democratic Socialists of America selected controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to host its official election-night livestream. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt criticized the decision, accusing the group of promoting rhetoric he said supports terrorism and antisemitism.
“Of all the people the DSA could have chosen, it chose Hasan Piker, someone who proudly expresses support for terrorist organizations and traffics in antisemitism,” Greenblatt wrote on X. He added that the group was elevating, rather than distancing itself from, that kind of rhetoric.
Several candidates endorsed or supported by the DSA won on Tuesday, including Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Melat Kiros in Colorado, Donavan McKinney in Michigan, and Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier in New York.
Greenblatt linked to an ADL article criticizing past remarks by Piker, including comments the organization said invoked antisemitic stereotypes and conspiracy theories. Among the remarks cited were Piker calling Orthodox Jews “inbred” and describing Zionism as “an exterminationist ideology built around ethnoreligious supremacist values.”
Piker responded to Greenblatt with a profane post, telling him to “suck it” and mocking Elon Musk’s political spending and election results.
The ADL did not immediately comment on Piker’s response.
During his more than 13-hour election-night livestream, Piker called the results a “blue-clear apocalypse” as Democrats made significant gains in the House and Senate. “Trumpism is dying, and I could not feel any better,” he told viewers. At another point, he asked them to imagine a world in which Donald Trump was in prison.
Piker also celebrated the Republican losses, saying the party’s agenda, corruption, and impact on the economy had come back to hurt it.
In the run-up to the midterms, Piker drew attention for interviewing and campaigning with candidates backed by or aligned with the DSA. He gained wider political notice after campaigning in Michigan with Abdul El-Sayed, who was elected to the Senate. Although the DSA did not formally back El-Sayed, it said he supported priorities such as Medicare for All.
El-Sayed faced criticism for appearing with Piker and seemed to create distance from the streamer, holding no further campaign events with him late in the race. The criticism followed remarks Piker made that critics said suggested Jewish Americans’ support for Israel could expose them to antisemitic violence.
During an August Twitch stream, Piker said that if Jewish Americans continued to present themselves as especially invested in Israel, someone might eventually act against American Jews rather than against Israel.
El-Sayed did not directly condemn Piker’s comments, but said all Americans should be able to express their beliefs without fear of violence, particularly communities that had faced intimidation. He also said his commitment to Jewish safety was as strong as his commitment to his daughters’ safety, called antisemitism a scourge, and opposed rhetoric that could put the community at risk.
