Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democratic candidate for Congress, profanely defended far-left streamer Hasan Piker on Thursday, lashing out at prominent Democrats who have distanced themselves from the online personality over controversial remarks. Rabb, who is poised to represent a district encompassing much of Philadelphia in the upcoming election, criticized what he described as the "institutionalists" focus on disavowing Piker.
"Not White Christian nationalists? Not the broligarchs? Not the AI overlords? Nope, the guy encouraging young people to use their collective political power for good," Rabb tweeted Friday. "F--- that noise."
Rabb, a self-described democratic socialist, won a four-way primary in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat from which Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Pa., is retiring. He is heavily favored to win the general election against independent Dennis Mahoney.
During his primary campaign, Rabb had embraced his association with Piker, appearing with the streamer at a West Philadelphia event in April. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rabb told Piker at the time that he would be "slammed for even talking to you" and called such criticism a "double standard because as a Black progressive, I can’t do this: I’m part of the problem or whatever."
Rabb's defense of Piker comes as several high-profile Democrats have condemned the streamer. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has described Piker’s comments about American Jews as "dangerous and anti-Semitic." When pressed on the issue by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Jeffries stated, "I’ve just addressed Hasan Piker’s comments as it relates to the Jewish community as forcefully as I can, and I will continue to do that."
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called for a vote on a bipartisan resolution condemning Piker and conservative podcaster Candace Owens, stating, "Hatred is hatred, period. Piker has proved it again. Telling millions of followers that Jewish Americans are bringing violence on themselves is blatantly antisemitic and one of the oldest tropes in the book." Gottheimer asserted that anyone campaigning with Piker is "complicit" with his views.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., also accused Piker of "victim-blaming" American Jews and reiterated his earlier description of the streamer as an "unapologetic antisemite." Schneider cautioned that Democrats risk losing credibility by condemning controversial figures on the right while "platforming those who espouse hate of any kind" within their own party.
Schneider also pointed to Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, another socialist-aligned candidate, suggesting he had "refused" to condemn Piker. El-Sayed’s campaign, in response, stated that "nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople."