Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has dismissed the intense media and political focus on left-wing streamer Hasan Piker as "absolutely ludicrous," pushing back on growing pressure within the Democratic Party to distance itself from him. The row comes as Democrats are split over how to respond to Piker, who has campaigned alongside several candidates this midterm cycle but has faced backlash over past comments on 9/11 and remarks about American Jews and Israel, forcing some allies to reconsider their ties to him.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Bernie Sanders both argued that Piker, whose Twitch audience is put at around three million, represents an important channel for reaching younger and disengaged voters, even while declining to endorse everything he has said. By contrast, Rep. Josh Gottheimer said Democrats should outright condemn Piker's views and refuse to share a platform with him. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has been endorsed by Piker and appeared at his campaign events, insisted he was courting Piker's listeners rather than the streamer himself, though a Democratic strategist accused him of being "disingenuous" for not clearly disavowing Piker.