Hasan Piker’s sold-out Minneapolis event has Democrats fighting eight days before the midterms

Hasan Piker’s Oct. 26 Minneapolis event has sold out, and it has split Minnesota Democrats eight days before the midterms. State Sen. Omar Fateh said last week that RSVPs sold out within five minutes, according to Jewish Insider, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s campaign and Rep. Angie Craig have criticized the Twitch streamer’s involvement.

What the event is

Fateh is hosting a live forum called “I’m the Host Now”, billed as an “Election Edition” discussion of “Minneapolis, Politics, and our community,” per the Algemeiner. Piker and Omar are the billed guests. Alpha News also reported on the event.

Fateh, a democratic socialist who lost a challenge to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, said in a statement that “the rumors are true!” and that he was “honored to be able to share space alongside two fearless champions for our people.”

Who is mad, and what they said

Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, was first out on Saturday. In a post on X, she wrote: “Hasan Piker’s rhetoric is polarizing and dangerous, and embracing him as a party is a mistake.” She added that she was “disappointed that Minnesota DFLers are hosting an event with him here.”

On Sunday, a spokesperson for Klobuchar’s campaign for governor said: “The senator believes that a number of the statements he has made are reckless and unacceptable,” Jewish Insider reported.

Two Jewish community groups followed on Monday. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas said it was “appalled” that Omar and Fateh would share a stage with Piker. The DFL Jewish Caucus urged Minnesota Democrats to reject the event, calling Piker “a hate profiteer.” Those labels are the groups’ own words.

The Republican angle

State GOP chairman Alex Plechash seized on the event, saying Omar “is going to share a stage with him eight days before the election,” according to the Algemeiner. He also said Klobuchar’s endorsement “is still featured” on Omar’s campaign website and urged her to condemn Piker.

Republican ads in Michigan have already used Piker’s old comments against Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, as NPR reported on Oct. 15. Piker told NPR such guilt-by-association attacks are less effective than people think.

What critics point to

The Anti-Defamation League’s Midwest senior director, Rebecca Weininger, told Jewish Insider that Piker “has a history of inflammatory rhetoric that sanitizes violence and denigrates Jewish people.” The Algemeiner and the JCRC describe his record as antisemitic; those are their characterizations, not ours. Piker has apologized for some past remarks, including a 2019 comment about 9/11, NPR reports.

What happens next

Jewish Insider cites a source saying some Democratic leaders have privately urged Omar and Fateh to cancel. Gov. Tim Walz, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and the state DFL did not respond to the outlet’s requests for comment over the weekend. The event is still scheduled for Monday, Oct. 26.