Senator Bernie Sanders stated that strategist James Carville should consider starting his own political party if he is unwilling to be in the same party as far-left streamer Hasan Piker. The exchange occurred during an interview Tuesday, as moderate Democrats expressed concerns about the party embracing extremism.
When asked by CNN's Abby Phillip about the Democratic Party's ideological spectrum, encompassing figures like Piker and strategists such as Carville, Sanders responded, "If Mr. Carville doesn't want to be in my party, the party that I belong to, that Piker, that El-Sayed belongs to, he can start his own party."
Sanders' comments came as he endorsed Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race. El-Sayed, who campaigned with Piker and appeared on his YouTube channel, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary. This outcome is seen as a boost for the progressive wing of the party in its ongoing ideological debates with the center-left establishment.
Sanders also pushed back against criticism regarding Piker, suggesting a reciprocal framing. He questioned whether critics would prefer a party that accepts funding from entities like AIPAC or supports the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Do you want to be in a party which has not stood up to the AI industry because they got a lot of money from AI or from crypto?" Sanders asked. "So you can pick, you know, you can pick whatever you want to pick. But I think we need a big tent, and I think people like Piker should be welcomed into that, certainly."
Carville had previously stated on Fox News that he would not be in the same party as Hasan Piker, adding, "If he becomes a force in a Democratic Party, I'm out of here."
On the topic of past controversial statements made by Piker, including one where he suggested America deserved 9/11, Sanders acknowledged it as a "dumb statement." However, he also noted Piker's significant online following and the resonance of many of his other points with a large audience. Sanders urged a broader perspective, stating, "I think what we have got to do is look at the totality of where people are coming from and go forward."
He advised against focusing excessively on past remarks, suggesting that public figures might have statements they regret over their careers. Piker himself later clarified that he did not literally mean America deserved the attacks and framed the comment as a critique of U.S. foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the centrist think tank Third Way warned that embracing extremism could cost Democrats electoral victories. "Democrats lost power in part because we lost the battle of reasonableness against Donald Trump," the group stated. "Embracing extremism will only serve to hand Republicans a key pickup opportunity and imperil Democrats elsewhere."
Third Way also expressed concern that El-Sayed's association with Piker, coupled with Piker's past statements, could be used by Republicans to target swing voters. "Videos of El-Sayed with his arms around Hasan Piker alongside anti-American and misogynistic quotes, like claiming America "deserved" 9/11, tweets about defunding the police, and photos of El-Sayed calling to abolish ICE will fill the timelines of voters in the middle."