‘I want the Democratic Party to treat me like a Never-Trumper:’ Hasan Piker wants Dems to win back their voters
Political commentator Hasan Piker went on Pod Save America to talk about several political issues. When asked about the upcoming midterm elections, Piker imparted advice on strategy to the Democratic Party.
Jon Favreau, host of the podcast, asked Piker if he would consider a third-party vote. He brought up Piker’s previous comments against voting for Gov. Gavin Newsom from California if he ran against Vice President JD Vance in 2028.
“What do you tell people who follow you, who respect you, who happen to live in swing states as we head into 2026 and 2028?” Favreau recognized that many Democratic Party critics believe that the party members would rather preserve power than put in the effort to convince people to vote for them.
In other words, it’s a wrongful assumption that a group is already ‘won’ by a party. Because of this belief, politicians become complacent about running campaigns for these groups, when in reality, people are not static and will always vote for the party that they perceive to care about their needs.
“I want the Democratic Party to treat me like a Never-Trumper,” Piker said. “I want the Democratic Party to treat me like a triple-Trump voter, because it turns out that’s all they’re tuned into.”
Losing voters over a lack of commitment
It’s an extreme, and Favreau recognized it. The host raised a point about the severity of the stakes, should Democrats lose again to other extreme Republicans. Piker understands the concern, going so far as to accuse Republicans of being “terrorists” both domestically and internationally. It’s a controversial opinion, but nevertheless, it summed up Piker’s disdain for the opposite party.
“I want to fight against the growing fascist movement in this country. My frustration with the Democrats is their conciliatory attitude towards that and their lack of investment in this struggle,” Piker accused. He thinks that while Democrats point to Trump as a threat, they also co-opted anti-immigrant messaging in 2020.
Although Piker expressed frustration on the point, the Biden administration fared better on the humanitarian end of immigration than the previous and current Trump administrations. Although Biden is criticized for his mixed border policy, his administration utilized technology to streamline the immigration process. It wouldn’t be charitable or factual to say that Biden has adopted the same aggressive, anti-migrant messaging.
The point Piker made is that essentially, taking a solid, left-leaning stance is not an issue. It will be advantageous especially if that’s what the core voting base is looking for in a candidate.
It’s about focusing on key issues that the base wants to tackle. Some Latinos who voted for Trump claim that affordability is “a big issue” for the group. Other voters who didn’t choose Harris swung because of her lukewarm stance on the atrocities being committed in Gaza.
“You would do everything to talk to the people on your left flank.” Piker made an example of Graham Platner from Maine. The candidate, who’s currently in the race for the Senate, is a vocal anti-Zionist and a supporter of Medicaid for all. Nevertheless, Platner is currently leading polls despite his being explicit with his views.
What does Piker want?
“There is this broad, left-flank, left-populist, Bernie-crat attitude that I’m seeing from a lot of candidates, and I think the centrist forces are very afraid of the movement that is brewing on that side because they don’t want a thousand Zohrans,” Piker said, referencing socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
“Let a thousand Zohrans blossom all around the country. That’s what I want.” If this is what it takes to fix every pothole in the United States? Sure, why not.
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