The socialist Twitch streamer who claimed America "deserved 9/11" heaped praise on an aide to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who previously professed hope of "impoverishing the White middle class."
Hasan Piker was in the middle of a long riff mocking liberal comic Bill Maher over his incredulity at various socialist platforms on his "Real Time" program when he responded to Maher’s criticism of Mamdani aide Cea Weaver.
"Mamdani’s top aide, Cea Weaver said, ‘If you don't believe in the government's sacred right to seize property, it's over’, and ‘impoverish the White middle class’," Maher said last week, before Piker interrupted the clip.
"You know you’re supposed to scare people into voting ‘for’ you, right," Maher quipped.
Piker interjected that he "love[s Weaver] so much."
"Beast mode," he said. "One of the things I love about Zohran is that the people surrounding him are oftentimes … so much cooler than he is, but that's also part of the reason why I really respect what he's doing; she's awesome."
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The phrase "beast mode," referencing total focus and brute power, was popularized in the 2010s by former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch in an apolitical context.
Weaver, who is White, grew up in a wealthy neighborhood of Rochester and attended the School of the Arts in the upstate city, according to a profile in The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
Mamdani's predecessor, Eric Adams, said Weaver's comments exuded "extreme privilege and total detachment from reality."
Meanwhile, Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed called Piker’s 2019 comments about the 9/11 terror attacks "dumb" in an interview Sunday with NBC but remains an ally of the far-left streamer.
Piker, who has appeared with his uncle Cenk Uygur on the progressive "Young Turks" program, has also appeared with other far-left candidates and figures, including Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., and Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong, D-Maple Bluff, who narrowly lost the Democratic nomination for governor Tuesday.
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Piker continued his attacks on Maher, including Maher's comments to Vice President JD Vance that his vote could be up for grabs in 2028 if Democrats align themselves with socialists.
At one point, Maher criticized Piker, saying the far left’s "most popular influencer … thinks communism is so groovy, he laments the fall of two of the most murderous regimes in history."
Piker responded by saying Maher’s ensuing mention of the USSR is a "bastardization of my quote" and disputed the comic's contention that the China of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping has ever actually "fallen." Mao died in 1976, and Deng soon emerged as China's de facto leader, holding several official roles through 1990 before his death in 1997.
Piker disputed Maher's suggestion that the China of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping had similarly "fallen." Mao died in 1976, after which Deng emerged as China's paramount leader and oversaw sweeping reforms through 1990.
"The fall of the USSR was one of the great catastrophes of the 20th century. Mao Zedong is one of the great leaders of this world. Both are true. Both are objectively true statements," Piker said, calling Maher "smug" and suggesting he "read a book."
Piker then defended his comments about the USSR by saying Russian President Vladimir Putin — "certainly no Communist" — agrees with him.
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Putin, an ex-Soviet KGB agent, said in 2005 the 1991 collapse of the USSR was the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" in history.
Fox News Digital reached out to Weaver through Mamdani’s office and to Maher through Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.
