Trump-like or

not.

The reason why I pushed back a little bit on that is because Donald Trump says outlandish things that are untrue.

I have a style of communicating that is, I guess, unorthodox for mainstream outlets, but I talk in the same way that an average person talks.

Right.

But the arguments that I'm presenting or the opinions that I have are not actually outside of the confines of normalcy at all.

As a matter of fact, I would go so far as say the majority position is the position that I hold on a lot of these issues.

And I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? The extent to which actually this isn't really a left-right thing, is it, in many respects?

Was that, how were people interpreting you on Twitch at that moment?

So that comes many, many years after.

That was in, like, 2024 after the Kamala defeat.

But initially, the attitude on the platform was, what the fuck's this woke guy doing here, you know? It was like, why are you always talking about politics? But then also, I had a...

You know, a wide array of different things that I was invested in.

You know, I was gaming.

I would do like culture and lifestyle stuff as well.

Can you talk about that?

At least you make your own streams and decide what you're going to say.

True.

But here's the other side of this story as well.

Even if Donald Trump was simply like a media figure, which we'd be in a far better position overall if that was the case, he'd still be far more odious and far more repulsive than anything I could have ever said in my entire career.

As a matter of fact, take all of the negatively framed clips out of context, uh, throughout the 22,000 hours of extemporaneous commentary that I've engaged in.

And it still doesn't hold a candle to Donald Trump on a bad week.

Right? So he's bad on the optics front and on, on, uh, the communications front.

skyrocketing.

He is somebody to me who is pretty objectively A fit person, but he feels like he is not where he wants to be.

My, my, my physical fitness is always top of mind.

I always have that hunger in the back of my mind.

I always wanna improve myself.

It's, it's constantly eating away in my mind that I'm not doing enough.

Like, I'll tell you right now, every time I play basketball, I'm checking my heart rate religiously.

And as of late, I think it's like zone four, if I'm not mistaken.

Absolutely, yeah

Mm-hmm

... or, or someone who's actually campaigning when I'm not.

Um, the problem there is, uh, when political attack ads, uh, take shape on the campaign trail, uh, the candidates themselves also have these massive coffers to re-identify themselves.

I don't have that.

I have no institutional backing.

I have no mainstream media allies.

As a matter of fact, even on the, uh, liberal side, there are plenty of consultants in Washington, D.C., who also despise me, so they're heavily leaning into these attack ads as well because I think they're seeing this as a factional battle that's taking place within the Democratic Party right now.

Why do you think that is, and, and what happens if that continues?

Mm-hmm

... or, or someone who's actually campaigning when I'm not.

Um, the problem there is, uh, when political attack ads, uh, take shape on the campaign trail, uh, the candidates themselves also have these massive coffers to re-identify themselves.

I don't have that.

I have no institutional backing.

I have no mainstream media allies.

As a matter of fact, even on the, uh, liberal side, there are plenty of consultants in Washington, D.C., who also despise me, so they're heavily leaning into these attack ads as well because I think they're seeing this as a factional battle that's taking place within the Democratic Party right now.

Why do you think that is, and, and what happens if that continues?

defining generational change as campaigns that you're involved

in, Hasan? No, I'm going to tie this up perfectly.

So there were campaigns that I wasn't involved in, however, with Peggy Flanagan, for example, or Angie Nixon.

Angie Nixon in Florida.

Yeah.

Angie Nixon in Florida was a major upset, right? It was a major upset victory.

These were ideologically people that were candidates were aligned further with the Bernie crat wing of the party.

most

Yeah, I mean, how do you see that, I guess, each of you? Are there particular races where you're like, oh, I see, this is happening?

Speaker 2 in Denver, Colorado, unseated long-term incumbent.

And, and I think like Abdul say it is obviously the most like nationally significant race, but I mean, Daria Liza unseated another incumbent, the head of the congressional Hispanic caucus, Adriana Espyot.

Um, and, and these are, you know, deep blue districts, but then also, uh, Michigan is, is quote unquote, a purple state or a swing state.

I oppose that framing, but, uh, you know, I'll, I'll, I, I think that these are, Michigan is never swing.

supposed to be a swing state we turned it into a swing state with our with our ineptitude with our incompetence with NAFTA and then also by by not leaning into the populist rage that people were feeling and that created a unique opportunity for the Republicans to basically farm that outrage and redirect it back to marginalized groups and and make a more convincing message generate a more convincing message that they were going to be the anti-war side twice, once against Hillary Clinton and when also once against Kamala Harris, when it's clear that they were never going to be anti-war.

I mean, they are warmongers.

I think that there are going to be exceptions to the rule, but oftentimes you see even these candidates leveraging social media and talking policy in a different way.

I, I, I think that there are gonna be ex- exceptions to the rule, but oftentimes you see even these candidates leveraging social media and talking policy in a different way.

I, it...

Look, Sherrod Brown, again, is, uh, probably one of the more progressive Democrats, and, and he was a resilient force in Ohio politics for decades, right? Um, and part of that was because of his uncompromising, uh, uh, his uncompromising values when it came to labor.

He's always been the guy backed by, uh, the, the, uh, state labor unions, and I think that will, you know, that, that, uh, is now giving him another unique opportunity to, to take a shot and, and to get back into office, um, at a time when people are looking for that.

But yes, um, I think it's everything.

It's, it's, uh, the generational change.

It's people looking for, uh, real fighters.

Yeah

Yeah, I mean, how do you see that, I guess, each of you? Are there particular races where you're like, oh, I see, this is happening?

Speaker 2 in Denver, Colorado, unseated long-term incumbent.

And, and I think like Abdul say it is obviously the most like nationally significant race, but I mean, Daria Liza unseated another incumbent, the head of the congressional Hispanic caucus, Adriana Espyot.

Um, and, and these are, you know, deep blue districts, but then also, uh, Michigan is, is quote unquote, a purple state or a swing state.

I oppose that framing, but, uh, you know, I'll, I'll, I, I think that these are, Michigan is never swing.

supposed to be a swing state we turned it into a swing state with our with our ineptitude with our incompetence with NAFTA and then also by by not leaning into the populist rage that people were feeling and that created a unique opportunity for the Republicans to basically farm that outrage and redirect it back to marginalized groups and and make a more convincing message generate a more convincing message that they were going to be the anti-war side twice, once against Hillary Clinton and when also once against Kamala Harris, when it's clear that they were never going to be anti-war.

I mean, they are warmongers.

I think that there are going to be exceptions to the rule, but oftentimes you see even these candidates leveraging social media and talking policy in a different way.

Am I right or am I wrong about that?

No, you're absolutely right, and I have the exact same mentality about this as well.

I have my frustrations with the Democratic Party.

It's very obvious.

I let him n- uh, I, I let it be known.

But my criticisms of the Democrats, establishment Democrats, or the failures of the campaigns are, are never that, uh, they are worse than the Republicans.

I want them to be better than the Republicans, and sometimes I think we are far too close to the Republicans.

What do you think about that?

Like what was the reason that you felt in these midterms you had to kind of change the way that you operate?

It was a discontent.

I went all around the country from ICE out of LA protests, starting with that all the way around to even no King's rallies.

I went all around the world really and saw similar pro-Palestine protests taking place in France and numerous other places.

And specifically for America, I saw a lot of anger.

And we had already experienced this kind of anger in 2016, where people were treating Trump as an aberration that must be excised, totally unique to American politics.

I think a lot of people, however, understood that Trump was not unique at all.

but that's okay it I

Mm-hmm.

Like, that, I know that already.

I, I know that I'm not appealing to, like, a 75-year-old retiree, small business owner, finance executive.

They're, they're probably not gonna be, uh, super fans of mine, right? Um, I'm here for the under 45, uh, young men in particular, who, uh, never really see responsive politics.

Uh, they never, they've developed t- too much apathy.

They've gone out, they've protested, they maybe even voted for a, a couple Democrats that they didn't really like.

Uh, they plugged their nose and they did it because they, they believe in harm reduction, and now they're sick and tired of it, right? Now they're looking for an alternative.

What are your thoughts on that?

And also, Hasan, I don't know if you saw earlier today, Jared Moskowitz, the Democrat, said, "You know, my fellow Democratic Socialist colleagues, uh, I don't know if some of them should get security clearance." Uh, Hasan, your response to Jared Moskowitz.

Um, when Politico approached me and informed me about some of the other things that he had said about how he's gonna go on Abby Phillip tonight, and this is most likely his, like, line of attack.

He's gonna use this moment in the spotlight to not only attack myself, but also the Democratic Socialists of America broadly.

Um, I couldn't believe it.

I, I just, you know, I said, "I think he might have some kind of mental illness," [laughs] 'cause this is, you know, this is insane.

Like, you're a congressional representative, um, and you have a very tough race ahead of you in this district that was redrawn specifically to be, uh, more favorable to the Republican opposition.

And instead of worrying about that, you're, you're using your moment in the spotlight to attack a prominent critic of Israel, who, of course, wanted someone who's more responsive to the needs of the base for the Democrats to be elected into that seat instead of someone who was on, uh, the DOGE Caucus, as a matter of fact, one of the most right-wing Democrats in the country.

Explain to me why every Republican is not asked to condemn Charlie Kirk, who's now made into a prophet, and why it's okay for Gavin Newsom to invite him on his podcast, but apparently you are the great devil that will make the Democrats lose.

So what is it?

No, I don't think it's a game of protest.

I think there's a very, um, like, w- the, one of the things that I've said about Hamas, where I said that Hamas is a thousand times better than Israel, this is, like, a very controversial position for a lot of Americans.

But I think it's, it's important for Americans to recognize that, that, um, Palestinians are not perfect victims, right? They are victims, however, of Israeli colonial occupation, and I don't want to give any, uh, I don't want to lend any credence to the argument that, like, Israel is this vi- violent, uh, uh, colonial occupation because of the violence that they've seen Uh, as, as, um, as a mechanism of resistance from the Palestinian side.

I think the West Bank operations are a perfect example of why we see that even when the Palestinians are not engaging in armed resistance, which is internationally their right, they are still subject to colonial occupation, pogroms, death and destruction, loss of land, loss of homes.

Um, and, and that is precisely the reason why I, I, I look at that and I try to get Americans to recognize that, look, you don't have to be the biggest fan of Hamas, you don't have to agree with them, but you should understand why the Palestinians fight and, and why some of them, uh, why some of them fight in the ways that they do.

And, and that's the reason why I, uh, I try to frame the conversation on those confines, which by the way, ha- has, has become an increasingly more popular position.

The vision you have for the Democratic Party, and obviously for the country, do you believe it has to be broad tent with establishment Democrats in there with you? And just what did you make of the UK banning you from, um, getting a visa and going?

Is that wrong?

wrong?[laughs] Oh, I love that.

Look, uh, people are gonna have their, their opinions.

I'll just say it like this: Abdul El-Sayed's one, uh, one point victory, uh, margin showed that the Democratic Socialist-aligned movement, or the progressive movement, was, was in tatters.

It was obviously a failure.

And now David Crowley's less than one point, uh, victory proves that the centrist bulwark is still here, and that [laughs] the Democratic Socialist movement is dying.

It kind of feels like it's, uh, wish casting for the most part from a lot of people who, who maybe wanna go back to the way things used to be.

That did make the Hong campaign unique on that front.

Is that wrong?

[laughs] Oh, I love that.

Look, uh, people are gonna have their, their opinions.

I'll just say it like this: Abdul El-Sayed's one, uh, one point victory, uh, margin showed that the Democratic socialist-aligned movement or the progressive movement was, was in tatters.

It was obviously a failure.

And now David Crowley's less than one point- Uh, victory proves that the centrist bulwark is still here, [laughs] and that the Democratic Socialist movement is dying.

It kind of feels like it's, uh, wish casting for the most part from a lot of people who, who maybe wanna go back to the way things used to be.

That did make the Hong campaign unique on that front.

Are you concerned that pushing the candidates that you're pushing, you might end up hurting the Democrats nationally in a general

election? I've heard this concern a lot.

They said, My allegiance with Zoran was actually going to hurt his chances.

Andrew Cuomo tried to exploit that.

He tried to really hammer on this point that I was a dangerous radical and so was Zoran by associating with me.

I think for far too long the conventional wisdom in Washington was don't respond to the needs of the people.

Always focus test your messaging and try to find a moderate centrist vision.

all this.

I just hope that it stays on their radar.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, look, a- as far as, uh, what's going on in Afghanistan, I think pulling the troops out of Afghanistan is a good thing ultimately.

Uh, I don't know why that same kind of rhetoric, uh, that Joe Biden and numerous other politicians, uh, talk about Afghanistan extends to I- Iraq.

I, I, I hope one day that it will, uh, to the rest of the Middle East.

I'm fully on board with withdrawing our troops and, and greatly scaling back on our, uh, imperial endeavors.

I, I think that it is a massive burden.

That's what the show is about

And it would be a very weird kind of anti-Semite Nick Fuentes wannabe who is saying stuff like that.

Anti-Semitism is a canary in the coal mine of fascism.

I will always... always call out antisemitism.

It's gross.

It's immoral.

It is a hate crime.

There is real antisemitism.

He was an anti-war voice in that situation.

The hangovers, question mark.

Oh my God.

They're terrible.

I...

Let's just say, may or may not have had a little drinking problem when I was growing up.

Okay.

But...

I know, but you hit that so well.

I, I mean, somehow they believe that mass surveillance will, [laughs] you know, hold Big Tech accountable.

Yeah.

I think, um, any kind of initiative to, like, give the government an opportunity for, for social conditioning or more, um, more of an opportunity to, to, um, demand, uh, what kind of speech is permissible is going to lead down a very scary path.

I mean, we're already seeing it.

Look at the Ellison purchase of TikTok.

I mean, that was deliberately done.

They very openly talked about, uh, the, the, uh, forced sale, uh, away from China into American ownership.

When it comes to online censorship, it seems like a lot of them do buy into this reactionary framing, the moral panic framing, or they're just not engaged on tech policy.

J. Edgar Hoover

Yes, exactly.

So, um, that's, that's always been the case, right? Uh, and, and outside of that, I think there is, uh, a lot more apprehension of, of even, like, student protesters and whatnot nowadays.

I mean, I believe Michigan restarted another case with the federal government for, uh, student activists.

I think it was, I believe it was seven of them that are now being prosecuted by, uh, the federal government.

I don't wanna get the details wrong, but I looked into it, 'cause they...

Kash Patel comes out and he's, like, talking about this thing as though they got Osama bin Laden, basically.

Yeah

Mm-hmm.

You can never have autonomy.

You can never have a, a national, you know, agricultural output on your own.

You have to have reliance to, to, you know, Western, uh, agriculture.

Uh, we d- we do this by way of USAID as well.

Sankara opposed, uh, this, uh, quite vehemently, um, at the time.

And, uh, not only, not only can you not have nationalized, uh, services, um, these services that you are hiring are Western services, so it's money cycling back to Western enterprise.

That's crazy

Ridden.

And it's so funny that, like, they tried to do that- And the reason why they're doing that is because they are genuinely afraid that there are so many awesome candidates that are, uh, not centrist Democrats that actually do wanna make necessary changes, and, and they're not controlled by corporate entities, they're not controlled by foreign lobbies.

So, like, uh, they're not beholden to the interests of, of, of what the rest of the Democratic Party is, and they're really worried.

It's not...

I always said this with Zoran too, like, they're not worried about Zoran failing, they're worried about him succeeding.

Mm-hmm.

It's not the Democratic Party.

It's not the DSA really.