Wisconsin Democrat scrambles to distance herself from radical streamer she fundraised with days earlier

Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong appeared on a Twitch livestream hosted by far-left political commentator Hasan Piker in late June, a stream that doubled as a fundraiser for her gubernatorial campaign. Less than two weeks later, she sat for an interview on "MS NOW Reports" and tried to put as much daylight as possible between herself and the man whose platform she had just used to raise money.

The speed of the reversal tells you everything about how toxic the association became once people started paying attention.

Hong, a self-described democratic socialist running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Wisconsin, told the interviewer she condemns "hatred, discrimination, antisemitism and Islamophobia, any sort of dehumanizing of communities." She insisted that appearing on Piker's stream did not amount to an endorsement of his views. Fox News Digital reported that both Hong and Piker declined to respond when contacted for comment.

What Piker has said, and what Hong now claims she didn't endorse

Hasan Piker is not some obscure content creator whose record would be hard to research before booking a joint appearance. He is one of the most-watched political streamers on Twitch, and his public statements have drawn widespread condemnation. Fox News Digital noted that Piker has claimed America "deserved" the September 11 attacks and has said Hamas is "a thousand times better" than Israel.

Those are not stray remarks buried in a decade-old archive. They are defining features of his public brand. Any campaign staffer with a search engine could have flagged them in minutes.

Yet Hong chose to appear on his stream, and to use it as a fundraising vehicle for her campaign. Only after the backlash mounted did she offer her carefully hedged disavowal.

On "MS NOW Reports," Hong framed the appearance as simple outreach:

"Being on these streams, it's important that we get our message out in places where, you know, campaigns struggle to reach voters. Just because I am on a platform certainly does not mean that I endorse everything that has been said by either the hosts or other people who have gone on."

That formulation, "does not mean that I endorse everything", is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It asks voters to believe that a candidate can share a stage and a fundraising link with a host who celebrated the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11, and walk away clean.

Fellow Democrat calls out the move

The criticism did not come only from Republicans. Ann Jacobs, a former Democratic Wisconsin Elections Commissioner, accused Hong of being "willing to sell out the Jews of Wisconsin for a few bucks." That is a striking charge from inside Hong's own party, not a partisan attack from the other side of the aisle.

It is worth noting that Piker has not limited his political activity to Wisconsin. Fox News Digital reported he has also campaigned with Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, suggesting a broader pattern of progressive candidates seeking out his audience regardless of the baggage he carries.

Democrats have faced similar accountability questions in other races. A senior House Democrat recently said a party candidate could not have missed the Nazi connection to his own tattoo, raising the same core issue: at what point does ignorance stop being a credible defense?

A pattern of saying one thing, then another

The Piker walkback is not Hong's first exercise in strategic repositioning. In 2020, she wrote online, in a statement later surfaced by CNN, that she supported "defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police."

By May of this year, with a gubernatorial primary on the horizon, Hong struck a very different tone. In a statement to Fox News Digital, she said:

"There is no way I want to cut resources for public safety. I don't like crime. I don't like unsafe streets. I also don't like when a member of law enforcement abuses their power."

From "abolishing the police" to "I don't like crime" in the space of a few years. The policy reversal is so complete it raises an obvious question: which version of Francesca Hong would voters actually be electing?

The pattern mirrors what voters have seen in other contested Democratic primaries, where party leaders dodge questions about controversial candidates rather than address the substance head-on.

The deflection play

When pressed during the "MS NOW Reports" interview, Hong did not simply defend her appearance or apologize for it. She pivoted to a counter-accusation aimed at the Republican side of the Wisconsin governor's race. Hong alleged that Rep. Tom Tiffany, whom she called "the Republican likely nominee," had appeared on a radio show that "has called for the execution of the governor of Minnesota."

Fox News Digital did not independently verify that claim in its reporting, and Hong provided no specifics about the show or the alleged statement. The deflection itself is telling: rather than own the decision to fundraise alongside a streamer who celebrated 9/11, Hong's instinct was to point fingers elsewhere.

It is a familiar move. When the conduct is indefensible on its own terms, change the subject.

What voters still don't know

Several basic questions remain unanswered. How much money did Hong's campaign raise from the Piker livestream? Did her team vet Piker's public statements before agreeing to appear? And if Hong genuinely condemns antisemitism and the dehumanizing of communities, why did she choose a host whose record on those subjects is a matter of extensive public record?

Fox News Digital reached out to both Hong and Piker for comment. Neither response was reported.

Wisconsin voters preparing for a competitive gubernatorial primary deserve straight answers, not rehearsed talking points about "reaching voters where they are." If the only place your campaign can find donors is on a stream hosted by someone who said America deserved 9/11, the problem isn't your outreach strategy. It's your judgment.