Biggest Leftist Streamer Says The U.S. Is Pound For Pound Worse Than Al-Qaeda

Leftist streamer Hasan Piker doubled down on his past criticism of the United States to tell The Axios Show host Alex Thompson he believes that “pound-for-pound,” the country is worse than the infamous Islamist terror group al-Qaeda.

Piker, one of Twitch’s biggest political streamers, made the claim during a teaser video for an interview with Axios released on Thursday after he was pressed on his previous declaration that “America is the top dog in terrorism.”

Asked whether he believed the United States was worse than al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11 attacks in 2001, Piker replied: “Pound-for-pound as far as the number of deaths, yes.”

“We have caused tremendous terror all around the world,” he followed.

Expanding on his answer, he went on: “I think that that is not only terror that we are waging on regular civilians in nations in the periphery, but it’s also having consequences on ourselves. It’s having dramatic consequences on the home front.”

As an example, he pointed to the deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, earlier this year. An Associated Press investigation found evidence that at least one U.S. missile struck the school, while a U.N.-backed fact-finding mission said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces were responsible. A final accounting of the death toll has not been established.

“That is an act of terror,” Piker said. “This doesn’t mean that all Americans are terrorists, but the reality of the matter is we have to create an environment of accountability to ensure things like that never happen.”

Republicans have repeatedly sought to link Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to Piker, who campaigned with him during the primary, pushing political ads that feature Piker’s notorious 2019 remark that “America deserved 9/11,” for which he later apologized.

In a statement to Axios, El-Sayed rejected the take.

“I do not agree with this statement, nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer. I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and [Michigan Senate race opponent] Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”

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Mamdani’s friend Hasan Piker saying that America deserved 9/11. pic.twitter.com/YMzVpYiRBT

— Dan The Zionist! (@DanTheZionist) September 11, 2026

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Hasan Piker keeps saying things that should make mainstream Democrats want to keep their distance. Yet they keep coming back. Maybe that’s because he has something they need.

The socialist streamer’s latest controversy came after he warned that if American Jews continue presenting themselves as “singularly invested in Israel,” someone could eventually “take action” against them. Piker says he was warning about the danger of conflating American Jews with Israel, not making a threat or advocating violence. His remarks drew condemnation from Democrats, including politicians who have been willing to appear with him up to now.

That has led to the usual debate over whether Democrats should distance themselves from Piker. I am more interested in why they wanted to be around him in the first place.

The obvious answer is his audience. Piker reaches huge numbers of young people who aren’t necessarily watching cable news, reading newspapers or paying much attention to what politicians say on Sunday morning shows. But I don’t think his appeal can be explained by audience size alone. When politicians go on his stream, they aren’t just trying to reach his viewers. They are trying to tap into the relationship he has with them.

As a psychotherapist, I find that relationship more interesting than Piker’s politics. Think about the world as many of his younger viewers experience it. Housing feels out of reach. Dating is miserable. Democracy always seems to be in danger. The climate is approaching catastrophe. Open your phone and there’s another crisis waiting for you.

Piker gives all of this a story: Capitalism is screwing you. Billionaires are screwing you. Israel is committing atrocities. Conservatives are standing in the way of progress. Whatever the problem, there’s usually an explanation and somebody to blame.

There’s something reassuring about that. Most people don’t particularly enjoy uncertainty. It’s hard to admit that you don’t know why your life isn’t going the way you hoped, that nobody may be responsible for it, or that some problems don’t have clean solutions. It’s much easier when somebody connects the dots for you.

Anger can also feel better than anxiety. Anxiety leaves you wondering what’s going to happen and whether you can do anything about it. Anger gives all that unease somewhere to go. Instead of asking, “What am I going to do?” you get to say, “I know who did this to me.”

Still, politics doesn’t explain why someone would watch Piker for hours. He hangs out. He jokes, gets irritated, talks about politics and then wanders on to something else. He’s there day after day in a way politicians aren’t. Spend enough time watching somebody like that and you start to feel as though you know him.

That is easy to dismiss as a parasocial relationship, but dismissing it misses the point. If you’re lonely, bored, politically frustrated or just spending a lot of time online, that familiarity can matter. Piker is giving viewers a place to go.

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