America is worse than al-Qaeda, says U.S.-hating podcaster most Democrats refuse to disavow

Hasan Piker says U.S. is worse than al-Qaeda.

The incendiary and increasingly influential podcaster-streamer Hasan Piker doubled down on his previous statement that America is "the top dog" globally when it comes to terrorism in an interview with Axios, which only a portion of was released on Thursday.

When asked by Axios reporter Alex Thompson whether Piker meant he thinks the U.S. is responsible for even more terrorism than al-Qaeda, the Osama bin Laden led terror group behind the 9/11 attacks and many other terror strikes against civilians, Piker replied, "Pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths, yes. We have caused tremendous terror all around the world."

Piker went on to accuse the U.S. government of "waging terror on regular civilians" and claimed that terrorism is having an impact on the U.S. homeland. In the 56-second clip of the interview released by Axios, Piker didn't provide any examples of how what he describes as "terror" was coming home to roost in the U.S.

His primary accusation centered on a U.S. missile strike in Minab, Iran, at the beginning of the war earlier this year, which some reports claimed struck a school where more than 100 were killed, mostly children. "That is an act of terror," Piker contended, making no mention in the clip that the school was adjacent to an IRGC military compound. No official death toll has been released from the strike and the Pentagon has yet to release the results of its own report. 

Piker looms large over the approaching midterm elections, a little more than six weeks away, due to his support of some of the most radical candidates running, such as Abdul El-Sayed, who's running for a U.S. senate seat in Michigan against Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed has refused to distance himself from Piker, despite being given ample opportunity by the mainstream media -- even becoming angry at times that he's questioned about his ties to Piker. 

Earlier this month, a poll showed Piker's extremist rhetoric stokes bi-partisan objection among the general public. According to the results of the poll, 77% of Americans surveyed believe Piker should be rejected. Not surprisingly, 79% of Republicans polled believe he should be rejected, and 72% of Democrats think their candidates should distance themselves from Piker, who in the past has said that America "deserved 9/11." U.S. Senator John Fetterman is a rare Democrat who has publicly criticized Piker as well as El-Sayed for continuing his close ties to the extremist podcaster.

Below, watch the clip from the interview, which is due out Friday.