{"id":2642436,"date":"2026-08-09T17:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/peter-laffin-says-questioning-el-sayed-piker-ties-isnt-islamophobic\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T17:31:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T21:31:06","slug":"peter-laffin-says-questioning-el-sayed-piker-ties-isnt-islamophobic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/peter-laffin-says-questioning-el-sayed-piker-ties-isnt-islamophobic\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Laffin says questioning el Sayed-Piker ties isn&#8217;t &#8216;Islamophobic&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpeter-laffin-says-questioning-el-sayed-piker-ties-isnt-islamophobic%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2642436&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>peter Laffin, senior editor at the Washington examiner, defends the criticism of Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed&#8217;s association with left-wing Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Laffin asserts that questioning el Sayed&#8217;s judgment due to his relationship with Piker is legitimate and not Islamophobic, citing Piker&#8217;s controversial statements, including suggesting America &#8220;deserved 9\/11.&#8221; The article highlights that el Sayed frequently enough campaigns alongside Piker to appeal to younger voters, which has become a point of contention, especially among Republicans like Mike Rogers, who accuse el Sayed of associating with &#8220;radical leftists&#8221; who &#8220;hate America.&#8221; The controversy underscores concerns about Piker&#8217;s digital footprint and public statements influencing political perceptions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Washington Examiner <\/em>senior editor<strong> <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/peter-laffin\/\">Peter Laffin<\/a> pushed back against criticism that Republicans are unfairly targeting <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michigan\/\">Michigan<\/a> Democratic Senate nominee <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abdul-el-sayed\/\">Abdul el Sayed<\/a> over his association with left-wing Twitch streamer <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hasan-piker\/\">Hasan Piker<\/a><strong>. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Laffin argued that the relationship raises legitimate questions about el Sayed\u2019s judgment. \u201cIt isn\u2019t Islamophobia to say that Hasan Piker, the live streamer, who is very prominent with this cohort on the left, was at his pre-primary pool party last week in Michigan,\u201d Laffin said on C-Span\u2019s <em>Washington Journal <\/em>on Sunday. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4680520\/peter-laffin-not-islamophobic-to-question-el-sayed-ties\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Peter Laffin says it\u2019s not \u2018Islamophobic\u2019 to question el Sayed\u2019s ties to Hasan Piker<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4680396\/el-sayed-trump-melania-dont-like-each-other\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>El Sayed says Donald and Melania \u2018don\u2019t like each other\u2019 after Trump\u2019s couple photo post<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4680373\/el-sayed-call-obama-michigan-senate-campaign\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>El Sayed hails \u2018inspiring\u2019 call with Obama, hopes former president hits campaign trail<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd then was with him again later that evening at the victory rally,\u201d Laffin said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Piker, who has emerged as an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4672204\/james-carville-democratic-party-hasan-piker\/\">influential figure<\/a> among young progressives, has increasingly become a political flashpoint for Democrats. Laffin pointed to a resurfaced clip from a 2019 livestream in which the streamer claimed America \u201cdeserved\u201d the 9\/11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Is it &#8220;Islamaphobic&#8221; for the Rogers campaign to raise El-Sayed&#8217;s close association with Piker?<\/p>\n<p>Hell no. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Xy6tTMeLLW\">pic.twitter.com\/Xy6tTMeLLW<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Peter Laffin (@petermlaffin) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/petermlaffin\/status\/2086499562986914284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Sayed, a progressive Democrat, has repeatedly appeared alongside Piker as he courts younger voters. Laffin argued that criticism of the relationship should not be dismissed as anti-Muslim sentiment, emphasizing that the issue is Piker\u2019s own public statements and conduct. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a person who says and makes no mistake of it, that America \u2018deserved 9\/11,\u2019\u201d Laffin said. \u201cYou can\u2019t say that America deserved 9\/11, have the poster there, talk about it lightly, and then campaign with this person, and we can\u2019t talk about it, or we\u2019re Islamophobic.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4679100\/hasan-piker-digital-footprint-creates-arsenal-gop\/\"><strong>HASAN PIKER\u2019S DIGITAL FOOTPRINT CREATES ARSENAL FOR GOP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Republicans have also noted the controversy as an issue, including Former Republican Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-rogers\/\">Mike Rogers<\/a>, who is the GOP nominee expected to face Abdul el Sayed in the general election for the open Senate seat. Rogers recently <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MikeRogersForMI\/status\/2085005718764077370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2085005718764077370%7Ctwgr%5Efb79349a86533710fb1ed577a4214e6226eb3671%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonexaminer.com%2Fnews%2Fcampaigns%2F4676513%2Fhasan-piker-democrats-joe-rogan-political-liability%2F\">shared a post on X<\/a>, writing, \u201cYou are who your friends are, and Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s are radical leftists who hate America.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s something deeply disconcerting about that,\u201d Laffin said, arguing that Michigan voters deserve answers about the association.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laffin defends questions on el Sayed\u2019s ties to streamer Hasan Piker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":2642437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26099122294909-e1786304182897.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[83894,50602,37329,54130],"class_list":["post-2642436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-el-sayed-piker","tag-islamophobia-2","tag-muslim-community","tag-peter-laffin"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP26099122294909-e1786304182897.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2642436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2642440,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2642436\/revisions\/2642440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2642436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2642436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2642436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}