Abdul El-Sayed’s Terrorist Sympathizer Problem Just Made a Sitting Congresswoman Snap at Reporters

Hasan Piker said America deserved 9/11.

Abdul El-Sayed kept campaigning with him anyway, straight through a Michigan Senate primary.

On Wednesday, one more Democrat got asked about it on camera, and her answer just handed Republicans the perfect midterm weapon.

Dingell Snapped at Reporters Instead of Answering the Question

Dingell stood next to Rep. Jamie Raskin at an Ann Arbor town hall Wednesday, campaigning for Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.

She had one job: answer whether El-Sayed's campaign surrogate, Hasan Piker, is a liability.

"I am done, so don't any reporter ask me again about Hasan Piker," Dingell said.

"It's not what November is about," she added. "Republicans are trying to make it – they're trying to divide us, and we got to stop letting them try to divide us."

Piker isn't some random online troll Republicans invented.

He's a Twitch star with millions of followers who campaigned alongside El-Sayed at the University of Michigan in April.

He said pro-Israel Jews are "making antisemitism worse."

He's on record saying America "deserved" the September 11 attacks.

He's talked about wanting the streets to soak in "red capitalist blood."

Every word of that is on tape, in his own voice. Dingell knows it, and that's why she snapped instead of answering.

The Republican National Committee's research account wasted no time. "Debbie Dingell CRASHES OUT over terrorist-sympathizer Hasan Piker who has called to kill Republicans," the RNC posted within hours.

Senate Republicans piled on next. "YIKES: Democrats are getting tired of defending Abdul El-Sayed for his antisemitic campaign surrogate Hasan Piker," the NRSC wrote, noting El-Sayed still hasn't disavowed him.

Democrats Are Distancing Themselves From Piker One by One

Dingell isn't the only Democrat squirming.

Florida DSA candidate Angie Nixon told CBS's Gayle King on air that she doesn't "really know" who Piker is. King openly didn't buy it, since Piker has campaigned for Nixon too.

Rep. Haley Stevens has publicly urged El-Sayed to cut ties with Piker altogether.

Michigan Democrats are quietly lining up behind that advice. Reporting has already surfaced a state senator who reportedly held off endorsing El-Sayed because of the Piker mess.

That's the pattern. Nixon pretended not to know him. Stevens called for a divorce. Dingell tried to shut down the conversation by refusing to talk.

Crime Prevention Research Center president John R. Lott Jr. spelled out the fix Dingell won't take. "Hint: she can stop these Qs by disassociating herself with Piker & stopping campaigning with him," Lott wrote.

Conservative commentator Shawn Farash predicted the party will try to memory-hole the whole episode. "Watch how fast they all forget that Hasan Piker exists," Farash wrote. "If Dems like Dingell continue to slam Piker… he will hit back."

Piker isn't going quietly. He's already demanded Democrats publicly defend him and insisted he isn't a "toxic radical force" the party should be ashamed of.

El-Sayed Called His Own Surrogate's 9/11 Comment Dumb and Kept Him Anyway

Meet the Press asked El-Sayed point-blank about it earlier this month.

"It was a dumb statement," El-Sayed said. He insisted he doesn't believe America deserved the attack, but he refused to cut Piker loose over it.

That's the same move Dingell pulled Wednesday, with a different excuse. El-Sayed admits the comment is indefensible, then keeps campaigning with the man who made it.

Dingell says she doesn't "agree with him on a lot of stuff," then tells reporters to stop asking. Neither one will say the word disavow.

Dingell couldn't even land a clean deflection. She wandered off into a riff on Piker's workout routine instead of explaining why her party keeps him on the trail.

Michigan Forward Network's Mike Banerian mocked Dingell's "divide us" framing directly. "You don't get to play victim when you and your party openly campaign with extremists who hate America," he wrote.

Dingell Just Told Republicans Exactly Where to Aim

One X user summed up the damage in a single line. "Debbie just told everyone what the Dems weak point is. Be a shame if this got exploited."

That's the part Dingell's team can't spin away. A sitting congresswoman refused to answer a question about an antisemitic streamer campaigning for her party's Senate nominee, and confirmed on the record that the subject makes her too uncomfortable to discuss.

Reporters don't stop asking questions because a politician says she's "done." They ask louder.

El-Sayed still hasn't disavowed Piker. Michigan Democrats now have less than three months to answer a question their own congresswoman just refused to touch – and Piker has made clear he isn't planning to make that easy for them.

Sources:

• Ashley DiMella, "Dem's meltdown over 'terrorist sympathizer' Hasan Piker triggers instant conservative mockery: 'Yikes,'" Fox News, August 27, 2026.
• "El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker after comments about American Jews," CNN Politics, August 24, 2026.
• "Abdul El-Sayed distances himself from Hasan Piker amid Michigan Senate race," The Hill, August 2026.
• "Haley Stevens urges El-Sayed to cut ties with Hasan Piker for Senate," Fox News, August 2026.
• "Florida socialist Angie Nixon says she doesn't 'really know' Hasan Piker," Fox News, August 2026.
• "Hasan Piker torched over playbook to dodge his past controversies," Fox News, August 2026.
• "Michigan state senator was in talks to endorse El-Sayed before Piker flap," Semafor, August 25, 2026.
• "Hasan Piker Claims Pro-Israel Jews Cause Antisemitism, Sparks Backlash Across Political Aisle," Algemeiner, August 24, 2026.