Piker Promotes His Marxism, Defends Hamas On MS NOW Podcast

Alex Christy
September 18th, 2026 10:30 AM

Text to Speech

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MS NOW hosts Eugene Daniels and Symone Sanders-Townsend welcomed hard-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to their Clock It podcast on Thursday to hear what Piker actually believes about politics in his own words. While there was some pushback from the hosts when it came to Piker’s defense of Hamas, when it came to Piker’s Marxism and comments about 9/11, it was mostly the “what’s going on?” sort of interview.

Daniels wondered, “I'm curious what your goals are, right? You went from making and you probably still make a crap ton of money streaming it on Twitch and talking and commentating that way, but now engaging in a little bit of a different way. It's not the first time you've done it, but in engaging a little bit of a different way. What is the project that you're working on? What's going on?”

 

 

The guy who makes more money than you claimed his goal was to cure Americans of their false consciousness, “I've always wanted to foment class consciousness in America, because I feel like a lot of people in the working class in this country don't recognize themselves as being a part of the working class where they are wantrepreneurs.”

He further claimed, “Part of the reason why Republicans are so capable of taking real anger that many people feel in the heartland, where, you know, industry is pulled out and then redirect their economic anger and frustrations back to white supremacy, hating brown people, hating black people, hating trans people, undocumented migrants, and the like.”

For Sanders-Townsend, the problem with that was not the Marxism, but “I don't think a lot of people that I, you know, grew up with, people that I know actually lack class consciousness.”

 

 

Piker insisted that “I think when I'm talking about that I’m definitely referencing people who do not recognize, like, do not recognize that they're being screwed over, right? Being screwed over by the Republican Party, being screwed over by their bosses, being screwed over, screwed over by the forces of capital… yes, black people are very class conscious and very racially aware because white supremacy is foundational to American politics.”

Later, Daniels had more procedural questions, “What is the provocation supposed to accomplish? And who are you trying to provoke?”

Piker claimed, “One, it's to provoke the opposition into taking a position that's more honest about their intentions. But it's also to get people to recognize certain ongoing and historic atrocities. One example I use fairly frequently is the one that I addressed on Pod Save America as well. The—Hamas—Israel's a thousand times worse than Hamas. This is intentionally provocative, but it's also not untrue.”

 

 

After Daniels wondered if Piker actually believed that, Piker claimed that he did and told the truth about what he really thinks is problematic about Israel, which is its very existence, “That violence is directly born out of—and even that repression is directly born out of the conditions brought about by the occupation that's been going on for 80 plus years.”

Eventually, Sanders-Townsend did offer a bit more pushback as she rejected one of Piker’s analogies, “It sounds like the example that you just gave that the people who are protesting the police are Hamas. And I just would reject that as somebody who has protested the police before, but we could move on.”

 

 

Piker doubled down, “This is the entire point. What is the exceptional nature here? If we do not have—if we do not make the same distinction about the ANC that also was also engaging in armed struggle against Apartheid South Africa, what is the exception that we make for it? Not just Hamas, but the Palestinian militant resistance in general.”

He added, “The expectation from the white moderate or the expectation from people who enjoy the order that exists in civilized society is that people are not supposed to fight back and try to even match the intensity or the violence of the occupation, the colonial entity, or the forces of police brutality that are defending white supremacy.”

Recently, Piker lamented what he called the “forcible reverence” around 9/11 anniversaries, but for Daniels, such remarks only led to practical concerns, “You have said you don't want to be a burden to the candidates you support that and then you spend the anniversary weekend, 25—25th anniversary, saying that.”

 

 

Piker claimed that, “Well, it's because it's—simply put: it's true” before claiming America’s response to 9/11 was worse than 9/11 itself:

I'm talking about the ways in which, and I wrote about this in Huffington Post in, like, 2017 as well. I said 9/11 was horrifying. What we did after was far worse. That was a piece that I wrote in 2017 and continue to unfortunately re-litigate every single 9/11 or just in general about how those in positions of power took this horrifying act of violence and used it to expand on that violence overseas to people that, you know, had nothing to do with it and to also take away our civil liberties, and also on top of that to take the remainder of our productive output and put it directly into waging wars for profit and plunder overseas.

Piker said something similar on an Axios podcast that caused El-Sayed to run away from his former campaign surrogate. The problem is that El-Sayed said the same thing before he decided he wanted to be a senator. Journalists should ask El-Sayed if he agrees with Piker, but they should also follow up on why he has flip-flopped.

Here is a transcript for the September 17 show:

MS NOW Clock It with Symone and Eugene

9/17/2026

EUGENE DANIELS: I'm curious what your goals are, right? You went from making and you probably still make a crap ton of money streaming it on Twitch and talking and commentating that way, but now engaging in a little bit of a different way. It's not the first time you've done it, but in engaging a little bit of a different way. What is the project that you're working on? What's going on?

HASAN PIKER: I mean, I've always wanted to foment class consciousness in America, because I feel like a lot of people in the working class in this country don't recognize themselves as being a part of the working class where they are wantrepreneurs. It's a—there's a famous quote, misattributed to Steinbeck from the Great Depression era that I always point to, “Socialism will never work in America because the working class do not see themselves as an exploited proletariat, but temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”

And I feel like that's so perfectly illustrative of the way that many Americans see themselves and, and, and feel about themselves. And I think that's also part of the reason why Republicans are so capable of taking real anger that many people feel in the heartland, where, you know, industry is pulled out and then redirect their economic anger and frustrations back to white supremacy, hating brown people, hating black people, hating trans people, undocumented migrants, and the like. So, I think that the real way to bring this conversation back to a productive place is to remind people of their class position.

…

SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Okay. So I have one follow up then. So, it kind of feels like you're like, because you've said a lot actually that, the number one problem in this country is, you know, the Americans lack class consciousness. And I keep coming back to that because I just like, who exactly do you think is asleep? Because I don't think a lot of people that I, you know, grew up with, people that I know actually lack class consciousness.

PIKER: Yeah. I think when I'm talking about that I’m definitely referencing people who do not recognize, like, do not recognize that they're being screwed over, right? Being screwed over by the Republican Party, being screwed over by their bosses, being screwed over, screwed over by the forces of capital. It's not a new concept. It's actually a fairly old school concept. It's a rainbow coalition.

DANIELS: Yeah.

PIKER: It's, it's what Fred Hampton tried to accomplish as well. So like, I'm, I'm trying to bring that conversation back to a more productive place as far as the attitude demonstrated by people, like, I think the question you have is, yes, black people are very class conscious and very racially aware because white supremacy is foundational to American politics.

…

DANIELS: I guess walk me through that, that theory. What is the provocation supposed to accomplish? And who are you trying to provoke?

PIKER: I think it's twofold. One, it's to provoke the opposition into taking a position that's more honest about their intentions. But it's also to get people to recognize certain ongoing and historic atrocities.

One example I use fairly frequently is the one that I addressed on Pod Save America as well. The—Hamas—Israel's a thousand times worse than Hamas. This is intentionally provocative, but it's also not untrue.

DANIELS: Do you believe that? But, no, like, do you actually believe that?

SANDERS-TOWNSEND: And do you—go ahead.

PIKER: No, I do believe that. No for sure. Because, I think — well, here’s the thing: is Hamas, a religious fundamentalist operation that have engaged in violent actions. Of course they have. Absolutely. But that violence is directly born out of—and even that repression is directly born out of the conditions brought about by the occupation that's been going on for 80 plus years.

And not only that, but I think it's a good entry point into the conversation for many Americans who also understand that what Israel has done is unconscionable. The genocide is unacceptable. Many of them are also now coming to the recognition that there's also been an ongoing occupation and apartheid. And the reason why I make this intentionally provocative statement is to challenge the previous implicit biases that many Americans have that are sympathetic to the Palestinian plight, but not exactly understanding of why Palestinians fight back or even aware of the internationally recognized right to resist that people in your resistance has.

…

SANDERS-TOWNSEND: Can I just go back? But that's not my, I don't want it like, I'm not talking about Netanyahu and the state of Israel. I guess my question is, do you, it sounds to me like you are endorsing violence for — because you think it's justified on this particular issue? And somebody would, that's how I heard it. I know that's how other people have heard it. And so do you understand that that's how people hear it? And is that what you are endorsing?

PIKER: So this, again, goes back to the same—this goes back to the same dynamic, right? Structural violence and state violence is oftentimes made to be invisible. So, when Israel as a state is operating its normal state functions. And sometimes it can—it can come across as excessive, right? It's not seen as violent. It's no different than when people protest against police violence and police brutality, the brutality of the police is systemic violence.

And therefore it's, it's normalized. It's made to be invisible whereas when people protest against the police, that is all of a sudden chaotic. That's all of a sudden violent. It's never violent when the police actually release tear gas on protesters.

It's violence of the protesters use leaf blowers to blow that tear gas.

SANDERS-TOWNSEND: I'm like Eugene move on, but I just want to note it, it sounds like the example that you just gave that the people who are protesting the police are Hamas. And I just would reject that as somebody who has protested the police before, but we could move on.

PIKER: I think that this is the whole point though. This is the entire point. What is the exceptional nature here? If we do not have—if we do not make the same distinction about the ANC that also was also engaging in armed struggle against Apartheid South Africa, what is the exception that we make for it? Not just Hamas, but the Palestinian militant resistance in general.

And that is the issue at the heart of the matter. People want perfect victims, whether they'd be black people engaging in the civil right struggle, historically, whether it be the forces against apartheid in South Africa, whether it be the liberation struggle in Algeria.

The expectation from the white moderate or the expectation from people who enjoy the order that exists in civilized society is that people are not supposed to fight back and try to even match the intensity or the violence of the occupation, the colonial entity, or the forces of police brutality that are defending white supremacy

…

DANIELS: You have said you don't want to be a burden to the candidates you support that—

PIKER: Yeah.

DANIELS:  — and then you spend the anniversary weekend, 25—25th anniversary, saying that. And I'm curious, like, help me square those, help me square those two things — 

PIKER: Yeah.

DANIELS:  — because when you're, when you say you don't want to be a burden, and you know that you've become a lightning rod fairly or unfairly, right? That the Republicans are going to use you as a cudgel against whether — its Abdul El-Sayed, or, you know, any other Democrat, you know, name your Democrat. If you already know that, why spend the anniversary weekend saying that, help me square those two things when you know that, because you're a smart guy.

[Crosstalk]

PIKER: Absolutely, well, it's because it's—simply put: it's true. It is a thing that Americans have—

SANDERS-TOWNSEND: How do you know that?

PIKER: Because I used examples. I was showing examples in popular media of—and this isn't about like— 9/11 was a horrifying moment in American history. It's one of the most consequential incidents of my lifetime, of our generation in general. I think it changed the trajectory of America. I'm not talking about the impact at all in that moment.

I'm talking about the ways in which, and I wrote about this in Huffington Post in, like, 2017 as well. I said 9/11 was horrifying. What we did after was far worse. That was a piece that I wrote in 2017 and continue to unfortunately re-litigate every single 9/11 or just in general about how those in positions of power took this horrifying act of violence and used it to expand on that violence overseas to people that, you know, had nothing to do with it and to also take away our civil liberties, and also on top of that to take the remainder of our productive output and put it directly into waging wars for profit and plunder overseas.

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