However, while discussing on a recent stream Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District Jeremy Moss, Piker seemed to suggest that American Jews invite political violence on themselves by voicing support for Israel. The comments drew sharp condemnation from some national Democrats and Republicans. Piker did not return requests for comment.

But progressive operatives who spoke with the Washington Examiner said the backlash is unlikely to persuade left-wing candidates — or even Democrats positioning themselves for the 2028 presidential race — to completely sever ties with the socialist star.

For them, Piker’s enormous audience and his willingness to say things conventional politicians will not are part of his appeal, not merely liabilities to be managed.

One former Democratic National Committee senior aide said the Democratic electorate was moving past the “knee-jerk, cancel culture reactions” that permeated the party over the past decade-plus.

“I think that, in this day and age, the idea that Democrats need to disavow someone, who let’s not forget isn’t running for office and is doing everything in their power to support Democratic candidates, the idea that we need to disavow someone like that when the man in the White House makes obscene, offensive comments almost every day — that’s a complete joke,” that person explained. “If Republicans are mad that young people listen to Hasan, because he talks about how the economy is terrible and that elected politicians in both parties are selling them out, then they should take it up with the guy in the Oval Office.”

A longtime progressive operative, a veteran of past Democratic campaigns, agreed with that sentiment.

“Trying to cancel folks on the Left for their associations with someone who doesn’t agree with you politically — I just don’t think that’s an effective tactic,” that person explained. “It’s grasping for straws.”

The operative argued that Piker’s inflammatory style is itself part of what attracts younger voters who have grown distrustful of conventional political messaging.

“They don’t think he’s full of s***,” the operative said. “He’s not only speaking for himself, but he’s speaking for a kind of silent majority in a way and on issues that — they’re used to hearing lines from politicians that they know are full of s***, and I think it’s refreshing.”

A former senior Biden administration official pointed to another element of Piker’s appeal: his ability to project a cultural image far removed from the stereotype Republicans have sought to attach to Democratic men in the Trump era.

“I think this is something we’ve talked about in the past,” the official said. “Hasan works out all the time. He’s good-looking. He presents himself as an ‘alpha.’ It sounds stupid, but this stuff actually does matter, especially when engaging with voters who aren’t locked in on politics the same way you and I are.”

“I mean this with all due respect,” the official added. “Who do you think regular guys relate to more? The Pod Save America crew, or some gym bro streaming from his bedroom while packing Zyns?”

That view is far from universal within the Democratic Party.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), who had already disavowed Piker, stated during a weekend appearance on Fox News Sunday that “the Democratic Party does not stand for what Hasan Piker stands for.”

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) went further on Monday, calling Piker “a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance.”

“Hasan Piker’s talk of violence against American Jews, and directly naming a Michigan elected official, and future member of Congress, Jeremy Moss, is unacceptable. Full stop,” she said in a statement. “We should all be calling out this disgusting rhetoric so it loses its grip on our politics once and for all. It has no place in Michigan, and no place in our country.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on Tuesday joined the condemnation, saying that Piker’s comments regarding Jewish Americans were “malicious” and “should not be tolerated by anyone in the public square.”

“There is zero justification for threats against the safety of our Jewish brothers and sisters at a moment of rising hate. We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now,” he added.

Yet Peter Loge, a professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, questioned whether the Piker controversies will ultimately matter when voters go to the polls.

Loge said voters tend to be driven by issues much closer to home, arguing that despite narratives about the effect of the war in Gaza on the 2024 presidential election, the surveys he has reviewed suggest inflation played a far greater role in former Vice President Kamala Harris’s defeat.

HASAN PIKER CONCEDES HE SHOULDN’T BE THE ‘BIGGEST SURROGATE’ FOR A CAMPAIGN

Ultimately, Loge stated that popular pundits making inflammatory comments is not the sole province of Democrats.

“Hasan Piker is obviously very popular, and part of the reason he’s popular is because he says what he thinks. There’s also a bit of outrage, and you know being measured doesn’t get clicks, and so you want to be a bit outrageous. I think that’s a challenge that both Democrats and Republicans face,” Loge explained. “Republicans occasionally have to distance themselves from Tucker Carlson or someone like that. I think that the best answer to all of this might actually be, if I were advising one of these candidates and asked about Piker, I would say, ‘Look, what matters is people are really angry, and he’s really poking hard at stuff that a lot of people think are important.’”