MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has sharply criticized Democrats, including party leaders and candidates, for their unwillingness to disavow controversial remarks made by far-left streamer Hasan Piker. Scarborough warned on his show "Morning Joe" that this reluctance risks a repeat of electoral missteps seen in the 2024 election cycle, particularly after Piker's ally, Abdul El-Sayed, secured the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan.
Scarborough expressed frustration that Democrats appeared hesitant to condemn Piker's past comments, including remarks about rape made in the context of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, where he stated it did not matter to him if such acts occurred. "This is about the Democrats once again, fumbling the football on the two-yard line when they have a chance to make great gains, but being so woke... to call out the obvious!" Scarborough exclaimed.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has also targeted El-Sayed's association with Piker, viewing it as a liability for the general election. RNC national spokesperson Natalie Baldassarre stated that the Democratic party's failure to disavow Piker indicates either a shared ideology or a lack of courage. "El-Sayed is a terrorist sympathizer and an America-hating socialist," Baldassarre said. "Democrats' refusal to disavow this clown shows they either share his poisonous ideology or they're too cowardly to confront it."
Scarborough specifically called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to urge candidates to distance themselves from such rhetoric. "If somebody says, a woman being raped doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, it's OK to call that person out and demand that candidates distance themselves from those people!" he stated.
The controversy has intensified following El-Sayed's narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary. El-Sayed is set to face Republican Mike Rogers for the seat currently held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. Piker, who made multiple appearances with El-Sayed, including at a Detroit pool party the night before the primary, has had his controversial remarks acknowledged by El-Sayed, though El-Sayed has resisted severing ties.
During an April appearance on "Fox & Friends," El-Sayed addressed the issue, stating, "Of course I oppose rape. Of course I don't think 9/11 was justified. [Just] because you appear with somebody, doesn't mean you agree with them on everything." Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has also challenged El-Sayed, suggesting that campaigning with figures like Piker might be easy in a primary but difficult in a general election.
Piker, meanwhile, has advocated for punishing Democratic party members who do not support El-Sayed. This division within the party has prompted actions from centrist groups, such as Third Way, which announced a significant campaign to counter the influence of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Scarborough drew parallels between the current situation and what he perceived as Democrats' failure to address cultural issues effectively in the 2024 election. "Why are we bringing this up now? We're bringing this up now because it seems an awful lot like what was happening in 2024 when Democrats couldn't get out of their own way to win an election they should have won," he remarked.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic National Committee, El-Sayed, Piker, and Schumer for comment but had not received a response at the time of reporting.