Omar to Appear With Streamer Hasan Piker as Minnesota Democrats Split Ahead of Midterms

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was scheduled to appear Monday night at a sold-out Minneapolis event with streamer and commentator Hasan Piker, despite objections from fellow Minnesota Democrats, eight days before the midterm elections. State Sen. Omar Fateh is hosting the event. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., called Piker's rhetoric "polarizing and dangerous" and said embracing him is a mistake. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's gubernatorial campaign called a number of his past statements reckless and unacceptable. Other Democratic officials and party groups went further and urged Omar and Fateh to cancel.

University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs told FOX 9 the event would create a split within the DFL. He said it could distract statewide Democrats from their closing message and put candidates in a difficult position with moderate and Jewish voters. The dispute turns on whether Piker's large following among younger progressives outweighs the political liability of his past rhetoric.

Right-leaning outlets Breitbart and Fox News lead with the opposition from Democrats and share nearly identical details: the Craig and Klobuchar-campaign criticism, the calls to cancel and Jacobs's comments. Their labels differ in tone. Breitbart's headline calls Omar "leftist" and Piker "Marxist" and says the event shows how extreme the Democratic Party has become, while Fox calls Piker "far-left" and frames the story around backlash. Breitbart also adds questions about Omar's ex-husband and her name, which Fox's excerpt does not include; Fox's page promotes a Piker explainer and a Michele Tafoya interview about allegations involving Omar. NewsNation, the alternative outlet, is more restrained, reporting that Democrats are split and that reactions were coming in. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while the right-leaning and alternative outlets had.