On Friday afternoon, Michigan Democratic Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed appeared on MS NOW’s The Moment with host Katy Tur. While the first segment of the interview was mostly a softball, El-Sayed started to dodge questions from Tur on concerns from Jewish voters in the state over his connections to far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, whom he campaigned with.
After talking mostly about socialist healthcare policies, Tur then turned to concerns of Jewish voters in Michigan over El-Sayed and his connections to Piker, who previously said America deserved 9/11.
Tur mentioned the issues Democrats had with anti-Israel voters in the 2024 presidential election for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, then turned to ask why El-Sayed would not distance himself from Piker:
In what was an otherwise softball interview on Friday, MS NOW host Katy Tur asked Democratic Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed about his connections to far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker.
El-Sayed dodged the question and said, “If folks want to make this about a… pic.twitter.com/EfY4TySiVY— Nick (@nspin310) August 28, 2026
So, if you have Jewish voters in Michigan, I'll say Dana Nessel is one of them, who are worried about your association with Hasan Piker. Why keep him so close? Or why not fully disassociate yourself with him, especially when Michigan is so tight? Elissa Slotkin only won by 22,000 votes.
In response, El-Sayed attacked his Republican Senate opponent Mike Rogers: “So, I am calling on leaders from all of the communities under the Democratic umbrella to recognize that Mike Rogers is an existential threat to everything we believe in when it comes to our democracy.”
El-Sayed then started to form his dodge to questions about Piker: Number two, this campaign is not about a streamer in California. This campaign is about affordability in Michigan. This campaign is about the ability to have health care -
Tur jumped in and pushed back: “The streamer in California does campaign with a lot of Democrats, so he’s not just a streamer.”
El-Sayed thought his way out of the subject was to blame the media for its Piker coverage, even though he was the one who decided to campaign with him: “This campaign is about the challenges Michiganders face. And I get that in the media. It's a lot easier to pick up one person and be like, this is what this is about. But this is why a lot of people get so frustrated about politics and political media, because it doesn't actually speak to the challenges they face.”
Tur, again, jumped in to push back on El-Sayed as she, a friendly interviewer, simply wanted to know why El-Sayed would campaign with a divisive figure in a swing state:
It's not just the media, and I reject that framing. 6 in 10 Americans don't know who he is. I'm not saying he's the most important person in the world. But when you have a state like Michigan, where, again, Elissa Slotkin only won by 22,000 votes -
She continued, “Is it worth potentially losing the few votes you need to win?”
El-Sayed responded and repeated the “streamer in California" line:
So, if folks want to make this about a streamer in California, they're welcome to do that. But I'm focused on Donald Trump. I'm focused on addressing the affordability crisis. I'm focused on getting you health care. And that's what I'm gonna stay focused on.
It may be a problem for El-Sayed if he cannot answer straightforward questions about his connection to a terrorist-sympathizing streamer on a Democrat friendly channel like MS NOW.
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
MS NOW’s The Moment
August 28, 2026
3:37:15 PM Eastern
(...)
KATY TUR: It's emotional, just as it was emotional in 2024 when Arab Americans stayed home and did not vote for Kamala Harris because of the war in Gaza and cost her, arguably the state of Michigan. Even though Democrats were arguing Donald Trump is going to be a whole lot worse.
ABDUL EL-SAYED: And my message -
TUR: He has been in many ways.
EL-SAYED: And he has been. So, let me just answer that point.
TUR: So, if you have Jewish voters in Michigan, I'll say Dana Nessel is one of them, who are worried about your association with Hasan Piker. Why keep him so close? Or why not fully disassociate yourself with him, especially when Michigan is so tight? Elissa Slotkin only won by 22,000 votes.
EL-SAYED: So, let me speak to a couple points here. Number one, I endorsed the vice president on the day after she became the nominee. I did not agree with the administration's position on Gaza, but I understood that Donald Trump would be worse.
So, I am calling on leaders from all of the communities under the Democratic umbrella to recognize that Mike Rogers is an existential threat to everything we believe in when it comes to our democracy.
Number two, this campaign is not about a streamer in California. This campaign is about affordability in Michigan. This campaign is about the ability to have health care -
TUR: The streamer in California does campaign with a lot of Democrats, so he’s not just a streamer.
EL-SAYED: This campaign is about the challenges Michiganders face. And I get that in the media. It's a lot easier to pick up one person and be like, this is what this is about. But this is why a lot of people get so frustrated about politics and political media, because it doesn't actually speak to the challenges they face. Look, I did a whole interview –
TUR: It's not just the media, and I reject that framing. It's 6 in 10 Americans don't know who he is. I'm not saying he's the most important person in the world. But when you have a state like Michigan, where, again, Elissa Slotkin only won by 22,000 votes –
EL-SAYED: But Katy
TUR: Is it worth potentially losing the few votes you need to win?
EL-SAYED: 10 in 10 Americans agree that they can't afford the things that they need in their lives. So, if folks want to make this about a streamer in California, they're welcome to do that. But I'm focused on Donald Trump. I'm focused on addressing the affordability crisis. I'm focused on getting you health care. And that's what I'm gonna stay focused on.
(...)
3:51:38 PM Eastern
TUR: 67 days to go.
EL-SAYED: Well, I'll tell you what I'm excited about. It's about to be football season. And you mentioned Ohio for some reason in this interview. And I can't wait to beat Ohio. And let's just remember JD Vance, Ohio JD Vance, Peter Thiel JD Vance is coming to Michigan next week. They are putting a spotlight on this campaign for a reason, because they understand that this one is for all the marbles.
And I just want to remind people that Donald Trump and JD Vance want to make this race about them and their policies, because this race is about them and their policies, and I don't want anybody to forget that.
TUR: Are you going to campaign or go on a tailgate with Josh Turek in Iowa?
EL-SAYED: Actually, that sounds like a lot of fun. Josh, hey, if you're game.
(...)
