Sanders Defends Hasan Piker, Downplays Concerns Over Democratic Socialism

Sanders Defends Hasan Piker, Downplays Concerns Over Democratic Socialism

Over the last couple of months, the American people have learned much more about so-called “Democratic Socialism” because several of their candidates for public office have won primary races in states like New York, Colorado, and Michigan, knocking out Democratic incumbents along the way.

Along with that are the now-infamous recent interviews with leaders of the national Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) political party, where they confirmed their extremism for the country to see.

For example, there was DSA co-chair Megan Romer, who, as Legal Insurrection reported, “confirmed nearly all of [the DSA’s positions] without qualification. The few she hedged, she hedged only on timing” in a Fox News interview last month:

DSA Co-Chair Megan Romer confirms their platform includes:

– Abolishing the Senate, presidency, & Supreme Court
– Abolishing ICE, borders, & prisons
– Defunding the Pentagon
– Mass amnesty for illegals pic.twitter.com/rPQiT9HCXN

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 26, 2026

There was also the admission that the ultimate goal of the party was communism:

Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) top leader David Jenkins: "Our goal is Communism." pic.twitter.com/Kh3irLDLgb

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 29, 2026

Democratic Socialists of America Co-Chair Ashik Siddique admits they support communism.

CAIN: “He says ‘our goal is communism’.”

SIDDIQUE: “We have a big tent of all sorts ordinary people who have many different ideas about what the pathway is…” pic.twitter.com/7faRxPkqCu

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 1, 2026

Though Abdul El-Sayed says he’s not a Democratic Socialist, the DSA endorsed his Michigan Senate candidacy, and El-Sayed has not distanced himself from their support.

Now that he’s the Democrats’ nominee for the seat currently being held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D), prominent elected members of Congress who are card-carrying Democratic Socialists are being called on to explain more about the party’s positions, opine on whether they are too extreme, and whether the Democrats’ and the DSA’s embrace of radical leftist podcaster Hasan Piker is good for them going forward.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the most powerful DSA member in Congress, and on Tuesday night as it was becoming more clear that El-Sayed would be the likely nominee, Sanders was asked about El-Sayed’s embrace of Piker, who has previously stated that “America deserved 9/11,” admitted he supports Hamas terrorists, and has openly encouraged and endorsed the killing of the political opposition.

Incredibly, while Sanders said he didn’t agree with the 9/11 comments, he boiled them down to Piker saying something “dumb” because he’s streaming long hours on social media every day. Plus, haven’t we all said something dumb like that that we’ve later regretted?

Sanders also used the moment to condemn “cancel culture,” saying that Piker needed to be heard and respected because he was allegedly resonating with many people. Further, he stated that “what we have got to do is look at the totality of where people are coming from and go forward.” Sanders did not explain which part of the “totality” of Piker’s vile, hateful, anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Jewish messages he agreed with:

PHILLIP: Let me ask you about one of those campaign events, because just last night, the popular but very controversial streamer, Hasan Piker, was at one of El-Sayed’s final events. The two did a stream together, a fairly lengthy stream.

I know that you’ve spoken to Hasan Piker in the past, but are you comfortable with El-Sayed having a close association with him given some of his past statements? To give you an example, one of the more controversial ones is that Piker has said America deserved 9/11. Are you comfortable with that association?

SANDERS: No, I am not. I think that’s a dumb statement. On the other hand, he has a whole lot of followers and there’s a lot of things that he’s saying that are making sense to a lot of people.

I think, you know, we have to get above cancel culture. You know, when you’re doing radio, whatever they do, podcasts three hours a day, you say dumb things. I suspect if you go back over your career, there may be one or two things that you’ve said that you may have regretted. But I think what we have got to do is look at the totality of where people are coming from and go forward.

Except Piker hasn’t really expressed any “regret” for any of his violent rhetoric, something Phillip conveniently did not point out.

Watch:

Phillip: Are you comfortable with El-Sayed having a close association with Hasan Piker?

Sanders: We have to get above cancel culture…. pic.twitter.com/3ByE3GnOZw

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 5, 2026

Sanders was also asked to address remarks made by longtime Democratic strategist James Carville, who said in a Fox News interview that if Hasan Piker became a “force” within the Democratic Party, then he would leave it. Sanders, of course, pivoted to the “big tent” talking point, again not elaborating on which parts of the DSA platform were more welcome than others in that “big tent” – abolishing the Senate, the Supreme Court, our borders, etc.:

SANDERS: If Mr. Carville doesn’t want to be in my party, the party that I belong to, that Piker, that El-Sayed belongs to, he can start his own party. But, you know, look, what we are doing now is, you know, you could turn the tables around and say, do you really want to be in a party where your leadership is taking huge amounts of money from AIPAC, which is supporting an extremist Netanyahu government that many of us believe have committed genocide?

Do you want to be in a party with people who do that? Do you want to be in a party which has not stood up to the A.I. industry because they got a lot of money from A.I. or from crypto?

So, you could pick — you know, you could pick whatever you want to pick, but I think we need a big tent, and I think people like Piker should be welcome into that certainly.

Watch:

Phillip: When James Carville says he doesn't want to be in the same political party as Hasan Piker, which one are you going to take?

Sanders: If Mr. Carville doesn't want to be in my party, he can start his own party. pic.twitter.com/2cPtsP1ONQ

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 5, 2026

Not surprisingly, Phillip failed to note that Sanders himself likes to have it both ways on party affiliation, but in reality he is not a registered Democrat, and only registered as one during his failed presidential runs in 2016 and 2020. He has also more frequently referred to himself as a Democratic Socialist or a registered “independent” rather than a Democrat.

On Wednesday, Sanders sat down with the Obama Bros to talk more about Democratic Socialism and to try and downplay/whitewash its more extreme positions:

Jon Favreau: There are some DSA candidates today who’ve also talked about abolishing prisons, defunding or even abolishing the police, abolishing borders. Are you worried that taking those positions, which are unpopular with most voters and even most Democrats, hurt the movement that you’ve worked really hard to build?

Bernie Sanders: No serious person that I know who is running for office believes in “defunding the police.”

Watch:

Jon Favreau: There are some DSA candidates today who've also talked about abolishing prisons, defunding or even abolishing the police, abolishing borders. Are you worried that taking those positions, which are unpopular with most voters and even most Democrats, hurt the movement… pic.twitter.com/L5LJehEtEU

— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) August 5, 2026

The DSA, which in their convention demanded candidates follow their platform exactly, has both of these positions highlighted on their homepage. https://t.co/LXOyiiU9ux

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 6, 2026

Strangely, the Obama Bros did not follow up with Sanders and ask him how he could say that no one he has supported for public office is a proponent of DSA policies like defunding the police, when NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member whom Sanders campaigned for, had a long history of doing just that.

That guys like Sanders, who is perhaps the most well-known representative of the DSA in the country, are willing to lie and sugarcoat where they stand and where the DSA stands on the issues is not exactly a shock.

And while it’s not a shock that the Democrat-compliant players in the press won’t call them out on it, it’s disconcerting nonetheless at a time when the DSA movement is definitely gaining traction.  So the onus is on the DSA’s critics to get the word out, something that I, for one, am ready, willing, able, and eager to do.

– Stacey Matthews has also written under the  pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –

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