Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said far-left streamer Hasan Piker's 9/11 remarks were "dumb" on Sunday, but said the country was "so stuck" in cancel culture when confronted about his association with the internet personality.NBC's Kristen Welker asked El-Sayed on "Meet the Press" if he would welcome Piker on the campaign trail, as he's already campaigned with him prior to winning the state's Senate primary over moderate Haley Stevens.Piker also attended El-Sayed's victory party and called for Democrats who oppose the Michigan Senate candidate to be "punished."El-Sayed dodged and said he was more concerned about who he was campaigning for and beating Republican candidate Mike Rogers."When asked about Hasan Piker's comments on 9/11, Sen.
Bernie Sanders called it a dumb statement.Do you agree? Do you disavow those comments that America deserved 9/11?" Welker pressed further.HASAN PIKER STANDS BY 'INTENTIONALLY PROVOCATIVE' CLAIMS THAT HAMAS IS 'A THOUSAND TIMES BETTER' THAN ISRAELAbdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S.
Senate in Michigan, talks poolside with streamer Hasan Piker at a party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug.3, 2026, in Detroit.
(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)"Of course it was a dumb statement and, of course, I think Hasan himself would say that was a dumb statement," El-Sayed told Welker."He disavowed it.
So yes, America didn’t deserve 9/11, but you know, to sit here and play gotcha politics with a dumb thing somebody said out of context that they disavowed themselves — to say, ‘Ah well, what does that mean about what you think?’" "I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do, rather than this idea that we’re so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020, but we seem to want to bring back," he added.Sanders called the comments "dumb" earlier this month in an interview on CNN, but said the Democratic Party should...