(The Center Square) – As Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared on a national news program Sunday, he avoided answering a question about the Democratic Party and if it should be tossing aside controversial influencer Hasan Piker – known for inflammatory rhetoric and what some describe as antisemitic comments.
While on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ host Jonathan Karl asked if the party should try to further distance itself from Piker and his rhetoric.
Pritzker – long rumoured to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run – avoided outright answering.
“You know, I'm not focused on the streamers and what they're saying. There's a whole lot of them and they got a whole lot of views,” Pritzker said. “What I think we should be talking about and focused on is how do we stop Donald Trump in his tracks? How do we make sure that we're putting forward an agenda that really fights for the people who need it?”
Piker, an independent left-wing political commentator and live-streamer on the video game streaming website Twitch, has campaigned with leftist and Democratic Socialist of America candidates leading up to the midterm elections this year.
In a reaction to the Pritzker interview, Piker said the governor did a “pretty decent job deflecting away,” in his answer to the first question about the streamer.
Pritzker, pressed again on Piker’s rhetoric and a recent comment saying the U.S. is worse than Al-Qaeda “pound for pound,” again deflected.
“I don't even want to talk about it. Hasan Piker doesn't mean anything to me,” Pritzker said.
Piker jokingly said Pritzker’s comment was “messed up,” before reiterating that he’s long-supported the governor.
The Illinois House Republican Organization quickly launched an attack ad against Pritzker on Monday for not denouncing the streamer’s “appalling rhetoric.”
Alongside campaigning with candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and with Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York, Piker has also been connected to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Most recently, the two sat down for an interview on the streamer’s show in February, followed by a walking tour of part of the city’s West Side in March.
During the interview, the pair spoke about how Johnson feels local media and capital owners in the city are “undermining” his goals.
Piker, a self-described “anti-zionist,” has been criticized by organizations fighting antisemitism, like the Anti-Defamation League, for his rhetoric following attacks on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, such as denying that any Israelis were raped during the attacks.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt has compared Piker’s rhetoric, which he says is antisemetic, to that of far-right internet personalities like Nick Fuentes and Candice Owens.
“I don't think it helps the Jewish people and it doesn't disarm them when I go after Nick Fuentes or Hasan Piker, a revolting person. You should call him Hamas Piker,” Greenblatt said early this year at an ADL event about online antisemitism. “We definitely are working a lot to try to get the platforms to kind of enforce their own terms of service so that we can pull down the most offensive hate speech.”
Now that he won’t stop talking, the folks who told us Hasan Piker is a serious voice who should be listened to ought to let us know which of these positions we’re supposed to take seriously:1. That “pound for pound,” America is worse than al-Qaeda - a ridiculous statement on a…— Rahm Emanuel (@RahmEmanuel) September 18, 2026
Meanwhile, with eyes also on a potential presidential bid, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been heavily critical of Democrats for not denouncing Piker.
