During a Channel 4 News UK interview titled “TrumpWorld,” far‑left Twitch personality Hasan Piker asserted that Hamas is now “far more moderate” than it was at its inception. The comment was made as co‑host Matt Frei pressed Piker on his earlier praise of the organization.

ADL and RJC denounce the remarks

The Anti‑Defamation League (ADL) issued a statement calling Piker’s characterization “outrageous.” The ADL reminded readers that Hamas remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 massacre that killed nearly 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans, and for the ongoing abuse of Palestinians in Gaza.

Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) National Political Director Sam Markstein also rejected Piker’s claim, saying, “There is nothing ‘moderate’ about Hamas, and there is nothing defensible about Hasan Piker.” Markstein cited Piker’s past remarks that he would vote for Hamas over Israel and that the group was “a thousand times better than” the Jewish state.

Political fallout

Markstein warned that Piker’s growing influence among progressive Democrats poses a “flashing red warning” to Jewish voters about the direction of the Democratic Party. He noted that Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El‑Sayed has appeared with Piker at campaign events, including a Detroit pool party the night before the primary election.

When asked if he would welcome Piker back to the campaign trail, El‑Sayed did not give a direct answer but said Piker had “disavowed” a prior comment suggesting America deserved 9/11, calling that statement “dumb.”

Piker’s defense

In response to Frei’s questions, Piker argued that Gaza exists under a “colonial occupation” and that the territory was an “open‑air prison” even before October 7. He suggested that much of Hamas’s internal brutality stems from that environment, not from ideological differences. Piker said he does not support Hamas’s domestic governance but wants the occupation and what he called “apartheid” to end.

Piker also pointed to Hamas’s 2017 political document, which he said shows an evolution from the original 1988 charter. While the document accepts a Palestinian state based on pre‑1967 borders, it still refuses to recognize Israel and calls armed resistance a strategic choice.

Official designations

The U.S. State Department has listed Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997. The Justice Department reports that Hamas terrorists killed nearly 1,200 people in the October 7 attack, kidnapped hundreds, and continue to pose a threat to U.S. citizens.

Fox News Digital reached out to Piker for additional comment but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.