By Don Varyu, May 6, 2026

Do you know who Hasan Piker is? Even if you don’t read this article, you will soon—he’s inevitable. If you already know him, you understand that he holds the distinct position of being the single hottest political flashpoint for conservatives attacking Democrats…and simultaneously, the same flashpoint for Democrats attacking each other.

My contention is that in both cases, Piker is blowing up because he says exactly what people don’t want to hear--which is, in fact, exactly what they need to hear.

Just a note on background: Piker (aka HasanAbi) is a 35-year-old Turkish American, born in New Jersey and raised largely in Istanbul. He attended both the University of Miami and then Rutgers, where he graduated cum laude. He seems to spend almost every waking hour broadcasting live on Twitch, a livestreaming platform. His political commentary features continuous real time exchanges with commenters. In combination with his YouTube excerpts, his followers number over three million. (By comparison, average current viewership for the nightly CBS Evening News is 3.75-4 million.)

So, what gives? Why is his one little spark on the internet generating so much heat? His secret sauce (in my opinion) is this: he is a truth teller. And a fearless one, at that. He will stick to his guns and keep firing until you’re convinced…or you storm off in disgust. Either way, he’s good with it.

Let’s start with the Republicans. Piker’s assertions cut so deeply that the GOP has gone directly to their DefCon 5—labeling him both a “socialist” and a “terrorist.” There’s even a proposed Congressional “condemnation” (I didn’t even know there was such a thing) that targets him by name. I guess there’s no time for Republicans to dilly-dally around; they need to marginalize him before he gets even more dangerous.

For the GOP, Piker’s blasphemy is twofold. Let’s begin with income inequality, one of his favorites. He attacks our current perversion of capitalism with the fervor of Pete Hegseth bombing civilians. Among Piker’s positions:

· Current wealth concentration is structural; and it’s intentional. This is not an accident, or something that just happened while no one was paying attention. It’s the natural result of our capitalist system which has neutered the government from installing and enforcing necessary guard rails.

· Capital eviscerates labor. The value of the work that the vast majority of Americans provide is vastly unrewarded. Instead, that value is endlessly funneled into the coffers of the already rich. For example, think about this: the ratio between the compensation of the average corporate CEO to his average worker has mushroomed from 21:1 in 1965 to 281:1 today.

· Government needs to provide counterbalances:

o Much higher taxes on the rich, including a wealth tax.

o A much higher minimum wage (to be replaced by a calibrated “living” wage).

o Guaranteed social programs. Including health care, housing, and child day care.

o Condemnation of “meritocracy,” a term he says the rich use to falsely justify their wealth. As examples, consider the “merit” of a Donald Trump, Jr., or his brother, Eric.

These points are not just liberal anymore—they appeal across a much broader section of the political landscape, particularly the working class. And that’s exactly why Piker is so reviled by the GOP; what if MAGA starts agreeing with him?

Which, conversely, would make you think he’s warmly welcomed by Democrats. But no; for many of them, he’s politically radioactive.

For an entirely different reason.

And that reason is…Israel.

To understand Piker’s views on Isreal, it’s necessary to first accept a distinction that many never will: “anti-Jewish” and “anti-Israel” are two different things. Piker states it clearly. “I’ve spent my entire professional media career combatting (antisemitism). I abhor it.” But separately, he adds, “I just happen to be anti-Israel.”

To make this clearer, just consider if opposition to Donald Trump necessarily makes you anti-American. It’s also two different things.

Many leaders of both parties find the Jewish/Israel distinction unspeakable--and almost unthinkable. To their peril.

However, there’s no question many of Piker’s positions regarding Isreal are inflammatory:

· Isreal itself is a terrorist state. Piker has even called Israel “a thousand times worse than Hamas” for its expansion of illegal settlements onto Palestinian lands, as well as its massive deadly bombings in Gaza. Those actions have resulted in the deaths of more than 70,000 Palestinian civilians—women and children included. He has liberally used the terms “holocaust” and “apartheid” to describe Israeli actions, which incenses his critics.

· Palestinians have the right to self-determination, although he believes the long-sought “two state solution” is now impossible, since there is no current existence of anything resembling a “state” in Palestine.

· All U.S. military aid to Isreal should end immediately. Interestingly, a growing number of GOP representatives is also signing onto this demand.

· He is openly anti-Zionist. He asserts Zionism is political “nationalism,” a political identity, as separate from an expression of religion. In addition, he calls the seizure of Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers “colonialism”--again, a rhetorical red flag for most Isreal supporters.

So, much of what Piker says about income inequality and Israel is not new. These arguments have stewed for decades. Therefore, what makes his complaints special? And why do I see him as the future?

The answer comes in just two words: young people.

In terms of income inequality:

· There is no argument that current economic woes in America hit young people harder than any other age group.

· The current unemployment rate for college graduates aged 20-24 is ten percent—twice the rate of the workforce as a whole. It doesn’t matter whether the reason for this is AI or interest rates or tariffs or “entitlement”—not having a job is not having a job.

· And it’s getting worse; the young people’s unemployment rate is ticking up at better than a point a year.

· The cost of renting a place to live is shooting upwards. For most young people, the cost of buying a place to live is just a pipedream.

· When a college degree is no longer a golden ticket to the upper middle class, high school graduates (and their parents) are rethinking the whole proposition. Annual public university enrollment is off more than 8% since 2010. This is more understandable when four years of college is an investment of at least $100,000—in addition to four years of lost workforce earnings.

· The government does not break out earnings for the specific 20–24-year-old group, but even people aged 25-34 with only a high school diploma take home an average of about $725 a week after federal income tax. That might seem somewhat viable—as long as you don’t plan on eating, living independently, going anywhere, or getting injured or sick. And it makes the thought of raising kids seem incomprehensible.

In terms of Israel:

· Less than two percent of Americans are old enough to remember living through World War II. Certainly, many of those people told their children and grandchildren about the horrors of Nazi Germany. But for young people today, that history is as relevant as the Crusades. The young person’s view of Israel is based on more current evidence.

· Proof of this comes from reputable polling. While all ages share anguish over the Hamas attacks on October 7, there is a wide separation of opinion on Isreal’s retribution campaign against Gaza. Gallup asked Americans their degree of support for Israel and its counterattacks.

The support, by age:

o Age 55+: 49%

o Age 35-54: 29%

o Age 18-34: 9%

Israel’s image among young people is dismal—and a warning shot for all politicians.

Given all this data, it seems logical that Hasan Piker’s fans on both topics--economic unfairness and Israel-- would tilt firmly younger. And indeed, that’s the case. His strongest following is among people 25-29. People younger than that aren’t far behind.(And interestingly, his army of “angry young men” is now being augmented with a sizable contingent of “angry young women.”

In many respects, this youth movement seems to echo the massive student protests over the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. Back then, older Americans tended to revile theose young rebels as “anti-American.” In 1968, hundreds of those protestors were beaten by police night sticks on the streets of Chicago. Two years later, four student protestors were killed (and nine others wounded) by National Guard guns on the campus of Kent State University. Hopefully, we don’t see a repeat of that.

As it turned out, America as a whole came around to oppose the Vietnam war. They decided those young protestors had been right.

Today, in terms of both income inequality and Israel, history will show whether Piker’s young followers will also prove right--with the power to again change public opinion.

Certainly, Republicans will continue to assail Piker, not just because of his opinions, but because those beliefs threaten to motivate the voting patterns of young people for a generation.

But the real question is this: can Democrats be wise enough to embrace him?

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3 Things

Hasan Piker is the Future