Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker told Axios National Political Correspondent Alex Thompson in a recent interview that the United States has caused more death than al-Qaeda, the terrorist network responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Thompson pressed Piker on comments he has made in the past, asking, “You once said that America is the top dog in terrorism,” to which Piker replied, “Yes.” When Thompson followed up by asking whether Piker believes America is worse than al-Qaeda, Piker answered, “Pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths, yes. We have caused tremendous terror all around the world.”
Piker pointed to reports of deaths earlier this year at an elementary school in Minab, Iran, where Axios reported there was evidence that at least one U.S. missile struck the building. “If you’re killing 140 schoolgirls, that is an act of terror. 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 again,” Piker said.
The comments come months after Piker wore a suit styled after Chinese Communist dictator Mao Zedong while addressing a College Democrats for America convention in Washington, D.C. in July. Piker has not criticized Mao, whose regime is estimated to have killed tens of millions of people in China.
Piker has also brushed aside suggestions that he and Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed harbor anti-American views. In an August 2026 clip, Piker called such criticism “laughable.” That statement stands in contrast to a separate clip that has circulated online since at least 2022, in which Piker said plainly, “I do hate America.”
Republicans Point to Piker as Party Influence
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) recently argued that Piker and other prominent voices on the left are shaping Democratic Party strategy ahead of the November midterms, according to a prior Breitbart News report.
“I mean, look, Hasan Piker, Mamdani, AOC, they run the party. I mean, there is — I mean, Schumer is so scared of a primary from AOC that whatever AOC wants to do, Schumer backs it. I mean, he makes sure all the Democrats vote in lockstep,” Scott said.
Scott went further, telling voters what a Democratic vote means in practice: “So, if you vote for a Democrat, you’re voting for socialism. You’re voting for open borders. You’re voting for men in women’s sports. You’re voting for more taxes, more government, less freedom, less opportunity. That’s what you’re voting for. That’s what — already voting that way. I mean, it is how Schumer and Jefferies vote today. They’re scared to death of AOC, Mamdani, and Hasan Piker.”
