Hasan Piker Tells Axios That US ‘Pound-for-Pound’ Is Worse than Al-Qaeda in Terms of ‘Deaths’: ‘We Have Caused Tremendous Terror’

Leftist streamer Hasan Piker doubled down on his past criticism of the United States to tell The Axios Show host Alex Thompson he believes that “pound-for-pound,” the country is worse than the infamous Islamist terror group al-Qaeda.

Piker, one of Twitch’s biggest political streamers, made the claim during a teaser video for an interview with Axios released on Thursday after he was pressed on his previous declaration that “America is the top dog in terrorism.”

Asked whether he believed the United States was worse than al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11 attacks in 2001, Piker replied: “Pound-for-pound as far as the number of deaths, yes.”

“We have caused tremendous terror all around the world,” he followed.

Expanding on his answer, he went on: “I think that that is not only terror that we are waging on regular civilians in nations in the periphery, but it’s also having consequences on ourselves. It’s having dramatic consequences on the home front.”

As an example, he pointed to the deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, earlier this year. An Associated Press investigation found evidence that at least one U.S. missile struck the school, while a U.N.-backed fact-finding mission said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe U.S. forces were responsible. A final accounting of the death toll has not been established.

“That is an act of terror,” Piker said. “This doesn’t mean that all Americans are terrorists, but the reality of the matter is we have to create an environment of accountability to ensure things like that never happen.”

Republicans have repeatedly sought to link Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed to Piker, who campaigned with him during the primary, pushing political ads that feature Piker’s notorious 2019 remark that “America deserved 9/11,” for which he later apologized.

In a statement to Axios, El-Sayed rejected the take.

“I do not agree with this statement, nor do I give much weight to the statements made by a social media streamer. I am more concerned with the dangerous policies of Donald Trump and [Michigan Senate race opponent] Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries and healthcare for Michiganders.”

In an accompanying article to the teaser, Thompson wrote that Piker told Axios he was describing what he considers “blowback” from decades of U.S. policy in the Middle East.

“This doesn’t justify the action, mind you,” Piker said. “This is more so analysis to stop further violence from taking place, both violence in the region, but also violence in the home front as well.”

Piker reacted to the chosen teaser clip on X by criticizing Axios for “farming the interview” and turning his “nuanced answer” to Thompson’s question into “clickbait.”

Watch above via Axios.

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