Two Democrats addressed the party’s apparent conflict over how to handle Twitch streamer and far-left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker on Sunday.

About a week ago, Politico reported that three potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), wouldn’t appear on Piker’s stream if invited because of his past comments that some view as antisemitic.

“Mr. Piker’s terrible comments about Jewish people, 9/11, and other areas aren’t the kinds of conversations Cory participates in and he will not be joining him on his stream,” one of Booker’s aides told Politico in the March 28 story.

Outrage over Piker began brewing after it was announced he would stump in Michigan with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Democrats and Republicans have both condemned some of Piker’s past remarks, and just last month, Jonathan Cowan, co-founder and president of Third Way, an organization that champions moderate policies, and Lily Cohen, its press adviser, wrote an op-ed calling out Piker for referring to ultra-Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and saying “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel.

On Sunday’s episode of “Pod Save America,” Booker said he hadn’t even heard of Piker until recently.

“Here’s candor: I had no idea who this person was until a few days ago,” Booker said. “I had never heard their name, and I still haven’t heard him speak even. I haven’t heard anything he’s done.”

Booker said his communications director had asked him about going on Piker’s show after telling him “four or five of the most outrageous things” Piker has said. Although Booker didn’t clear up whether he would appear on one of Piker’s streams, he told “Pod Save America” that he “often” chooses to talk to people who hold opposing views.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said Sunday on “Meet The Press” that Democrats need to engage with streamers like Piker.

“The lesson of the last election is we’ve got to be out there,” Khanna said. “We’ve got to engage. It’s a complex, messy, multiracial democracy. I will defend my views, but the people who are saying, ‘Don’t engage,’ will cost us future elections.”

Khanna has defended his decision to go on Piker’s stream in the past and said Democrats should follow his lead and have “tough conversations.” He added that there was “obviously a line,” and he probably wouldn’t appear on conspiracy theorist and far-right commentator Alex Jones’ show.

“The point is I don’t think that line should be with Hasan Piker, who has millions of followers, and largely what his view has been has been critical of the blank check that we gave Netanyahu for the war in Gaza,” Khanna said.

“The Democratic Party has been too reluctant to get out there, to mix it up, to engage and we should actually be doing more of these things,” Khanna added. “We should have done more interviews in 2024. You know, Vice President Vance was on three Sunday shows in a row. I was like, ‘Where are our folks?’”

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