US conducted 'tremendous terror,' worse than al-Qaeda, Hasan Piker says in Axios interview

Piker, who has over 3 million followers and is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, came under renewed attention due to his participation in campaigning for the Abdul El-Sayed. Follow us on GoogleHasan Piker attends a press conference during Web Summit Qatar 2026 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 3, 2026.(photo credit: Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto via Getty Images)SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 02:07Far-left Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker said that the US conducted more terrorism than al-Qaeda while talking to Axios in a podcast released on Thursday. Piker, who has over 3 million followers and is one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, came under renewed attention due to his participation in campaigning for , Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan senator.Piker previously stated that "America is the top dog in terrorism," and stood by his statement in his interview."We have caused tremendous terror all around the world," Piker said to Axios, explaining that he believed the US had committed more terrorism than al-Qaeda "pound for pound as far as the number of deaths."Piker referred to the deadly strike of an elementary school in Minab, Iran, in March as an example of US terror.(L-r) U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker pose during a rally for El-Sayed, April 7, 2026. (credit: ANDREW LAPIN/JTA)While the Trump administration has not released findings from a Pentagon investigation into the strike, evidence has been found indicating that at least one US missile struck the school. "If you're killing 140 schoolgirls, 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 again."Piker tied to El-Sayed campaignPiker has been tied to El-Sayed through his own campaigning and through Republican-affiliated groups, which have already spent nearly $3 million in ads attacking El-Sayed over his connections with the streamer, Axios reported, citing tracking firm AdImpact. Many of the ads feature a clip of Piker saying that "America deserved 9/11," from 2019, for which he has apologized and since said that the attacks were "blowback" from US involvement in the Middle East.Piker said that he did not believe the 9/11 terror attacks were justified but that he was conducting an analysis "to stop further violence from taking place, both violence in the region, but also violence in the home front as well."El-Sayed denies affiliation with PikerEl-Sayed has largely dismissed his connection to Piker, often calling him just a "streamer in California," according to Axios. "The reason I talk to Hasan isn't because of Hasan, it's because of the 3 million people who pay attention to what he has to say," El-Sayed told Fox 2 Detroit on Tuesday."Too often the way that our politics happen is that we're told who we cannot talk to," he said.El-Sayed told Axios that he disagreed with Piker's belief regarding the US and al-Qaeda. "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 Mike Rogers that are raising the prices of gas, groceries, and healthcare for Michiganders," El-Sayed said.Follow us on Google