Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed described far-left streamer Hasan Piker's past remarks about 9/11 as "dumb," but later invoked the concept of "cancel culture" when questioned about his association with the internet personality. El-Sayed's comments came during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Kristen Welker, the program's host, asked El-Sayed if he would welcome Piker on the campaign trail, noting that Piker had previously campaigned with El-Sayed and attended his victory party after he won the state's Senate primary. Welker also pressed El-Sayed on Piker's remarks, quoting them as "America deserved 9/11."

"Of course it was a dumb statement and, of course, I think Hasan himself would say that was a dumb statement," El-Sayed responded. "He disavowed it. So yes, America didn’t deserve 9/11, but you know, to sit here and play gotcha politics with a dumb thing somebody said out of context that they disavowed themselves — to say, ‘Ah well, what does that mean about what you think?’"

El-Sayed added, "I want to be held accountable for what I say and what I do, rather than this idea that we’re so stuck in cancel culture that all of us agreed was a bad idea back in 2020, but we seem to want to bring back."

Earlier this month, Senator Bernie Sanders also called Piker's comments "dumb" in an interview on CNN, but suggested that the Democratic Party should remain inclusive of the streamer, also citing cancel culture. Sanders stated, "I think that's a dumb statement. On the other hand, he has a whole lot of followers and a lot of things that he's saying that are making sense to a lot of people. I think, you know, we have to get above cancel culture."

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, author of "Therapy Nation," suggested that citing cancel culture was a way to deflect. "El-Sayed clearly knows Hasan Piker’s 9/11 comments were a problem," Alpert told Fox News Digital. "He called them dumb. Fair enough. But then he turns around and complains about cancel culture when people scrutinize the relationship. You can’t have it both ways."

Alpert characterized El-Sayed's response as a "psychological move," where instead of addressing criticism, the candidate attacked the criticism itself, implying it was unfair. "Now you’re the victim and your critics are the problem," Alpert said. "Politicians do this all the time."