Hasan Piker told CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan today that he will not commit to endorsing the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee, citing the same concern that led him not to endorse Kamala Harris in 2024, which is the Democratic Party’s stance on Israel, which is also the reason that other Democrats say only helps Republicans, which is also the outcome that the 2024 election produced, which Piker is now in the process of potentially repeating in 2028.
Piker, who has approximately 2.5 million Twitch followers and whose audience skews young, progressive, and politically engaged, declined to endorse Harris in 2024 primarily over her position on Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. He is 34. His audience is substantially younger. He has described himself as a democratic socialist. His non-endorsement of Harris in 2024 generated significant media coverage, produced criticism from Democratic strategists who argued he was helping Trump, and ended with Trump winning the presidential election, which is the outcome that the non-endorsement critics had predicted and which Piker’s audience experienced.
Asked by O’Sullivan whether he would back the 2028 Democratic nominee, Piker declined to commit, citing the party’s approach to Israel. The issue of support for Israel has become, per the HuffPost article published this morning, “a prominent one among Democratic voters in recent years, particularly younger voters.” Sixty percent of US adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, per Pew Research. The International Criminal Court has standing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, has discussed arresting Netanyahu if he visits. The Democratic Party’s internal debate over Israel is real, contested, and producing the specific outcome where a streaming personality with 2.5 million followers is declining to commit to endorsing the party’s 2028 nominee before that nominee has been chosen, on a CNN segment, in July 2026.
Other Democrats have said the approach of withholding endorsements over Israel “only helps Republicans,” which is the argument that the 2024 election made empirically and which Piker’s current position suggests he has considered and reached a different conclusion about, or the same conclusion for different reasons, or no conclusion, because he hasn’t committed.
The 2028 nominee has not been chosen. Piker has not committed. The 2024 result stands.
When the progressive streamer who didn’t endorse Harris in 2024 won’t commit to endorsing anyone in 2028 over the same issue, and Trump won in 2024, what exactly is the electoral strategy?
Sources
HuffPost: Hasan Piker Makes Bold Prediction About 2028 Democratic Presidential Nominee
Raw Story: ‘That is curtains’: Major left-wing influencer pulls plug on Platner over allegations
