Not so long ago, we all thought that Ilhan Omar, AOC, Bernie, and the socialists were the radical face of the Democratic Party.
Those were good times, in retrospect. None of them were openly calling for the outright murder of anyone, and their antisemitism turns out to be pretty tame in comparison to what is becoming mainstream in the Democratic Party. As far as we know, none has flirted with Nazism out of hatred for Jews, and Omar was at least relatively circumspect in her support for Hamas‘ military tactics of suicide bombings and raping civilians.
Ezra Klein’s reason for existing is to dissemble on behalf of the worst tendencies of progressive politics.
Leftists say crazy, off putting stuff and radiate malevolence and Klein tries to repackage it in a more palatable way for his credulous, affluent audience.
Klein is… pic.twitter.com/CnqtwJjVcq
— Coddled Affluent Professional (@feelsdesperate) April 13, 2026
Of course, the slope was already slippery when they went down it. It was a very short slip from Bernie Sanders to AOC, to Ilhan Omar, to Zohran Mamdani, to Hasan Piker, and Graham Platner. And the slip was inevitable, as is usually the case with slippery slopes, which always seem to lead to their logical conclusion: the bottom.
CNN’s @DanaBashCNN: “Hasan Piker is excusing sexual violence by Hamas terrorists. He also claims Hamas is, quote, ‘a thousand times better than Israel.’ Hamas is a designated terror organization, not just by the U.S., but by the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.” pic.twitter.com/Z0QKorD8Uz
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) April 8, 2026
I have written about both Hasan Piker and Graham Platner because they are not outliers, but the center of gravity in the Democratic Party. Democrats from 10 years ago, who thought that Barack Obama was a centrist and who still think of themselves as Obama Democrats, may not love the new direction of their party, but they are reconciled to it. We know that because they say so, and because they follow up with their votes.
Rahm’s Jewish grandparents are surely rolling over in their graves listening to him explain why you should vote for the guy with a Nazi tattoo over a moderate Republican who isn’t an antisemite, because, maybe then the party will think I’m the “good Jew” when I run for President: https://t.co/Z96XwcU6WU
— Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn 🎗 (@SaraHirschhorn1) May 2, 2026
Hasan Piker was invited by The New York Times to share his reflections on the assassination of Charlie Kirk, as if a man who regularly calls for the murder of people he dislikes, including Senators, landlords, capitalists in general, and innocent health care executives, were best equipped to lecture us on political violence.
🚨Remember when Democrat spokesperson Hasan Piker – who campaigned with Abdul El-Sayed – called to MURDER @ScottforFlorida?
Democrats are shamelessly encouraging their base to use violence against conservatives. pic.twitter.com/foRklUhaJs
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) April 26, 2026
He is now a regular on their pages and podcasts, opining on these matters, and a feature at campaign events for Democrats.
The Platner tattoo story isn’t about Platner.
It’s about the people who spent years calling everyone on the Right a Nazi for the slightest association, only to line up like rank-and-file partisans behind a Democratic Senate candidate who wore a literal SS Totenkopf tattoo for 18… pic.twitter.com/I9Gp2I4dBp
— pragmatometer (@pragmatometer) May 3, 2026
Matt Yglesias will give high-minded explanations for why a Nazi tattoo—an SS Totenkopf of all things—is no big deal at all.
Love this. “I’m not worried that he might support an ideology that murdered 10 million because he actually supports an ideology that killed 100 million.” Good reason to support him, I guess.
— David Strom (@DavidStrom) May 2, 2026
“What is the specific worry a voter is supposed to have about this man with an SS tattoo on his chest” is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read https://t.co/juepivVXw2
— Aelfred The Great (@aelfred_D) May 2, 2026
I don’t believe that Platner is a literal Nazi, but rather a man attracted to violent and extremists of all kinds, and ideologically more a communist. Whether he is a Nazi is not the point; he is an antisemite, believes that violence is the answer, trains Antifa in violent tactics, including the use of guns, and Democrats love the guy so much that they dumped one of the most popular progressive governors out there to nominate him. He praised Hamas, which thrilled Hasan Piker, and the entire Democratic Party is rallying around him.
Tim Miller is all “Platner’s current antisemitism is fine, get back to me when he wants to gas Jews”
This tweet is fvcked up pic.twitter.com/S0UY7wQFg0
— 🇺🇦Banquo (@BanquoDyar) March 6, 2026
The Democratic Party is rallying around Platner, and even Chuck Schumer has bowed to the inevitable. That’s because they know that their base is now Platner’s fans, and Piker’s fans, and that their less radical voters will still come out to vote for literal communists who support violent revolutions. It is the Jay Jones lesson.
All the Dems falling over themselves to offer excuses for Nazi-tattoo guy would be screeching in rage if he was a Republican. The hypocrisy and lack of intellectual honesty is stunning. https://t.co/ZGUVgpPfIl
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 30, 2026
Not so long ago, Trump holding a rally at Madison Square Garden and Elon Musk waving to the crowd were proof positive that they were outside the bounds of reasonable politics. Pete Hegseth has a tattoo of the same cross that is displayed at the National Cathedral, which made him unfit to be Secretary of War.
When Pete Hegseth was going through is confirmation hearing, Elizabeth Warren wrote an entire letter about how his “Deus Vult” tattoo made him “a right wing extremist” unfit for service.
She just endorsed the guy with the Nazi tattoo. https://t.co/2mK7Y46Cav pic.twitter.com/dgktaz1KSt
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 19, 2026
Tim Walz was in meltdown mode likening Elon to a Nazi.
Guy with an actual Nazi death camp tattoo? No problem.
Campaigning with him tomorrow. https://t.co/tfqJU5ciro pic.twitter.com/AQwJOXCaLO
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) May 1, 2026
But a Totenkopf is no big deal. He’s our guy. We love him.
This is who they are. https://t.co/cMZ89p4Szl
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 30, 2026
My point is not that Democrats are hypocrites. Of course they are. To a certain extent, all politicians are, although Democrats rely more on their presumed virtue and compassion than Republicans, so it grates more.
Jon Favreau: “When you say Hamas is a thousand times better, do you mean that?”
Hasan Piker: “I do mean it … I would vote for Hamas over Israel every single time.” pic.twitter.com/1dNxvOGslo
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 13, 2026
It’s that Democrats are embracing the extremism of the left, excusing the very worst people, inciting the violence both with their language and their justification of it by embracing people like Platner and Piker. Five years ago, it was the embrace of rioting; now it is the embrace of Jay Jones, Hasan Piker, Luigi Mangione, and Graham Platner.
We went from outrage over the OK hand gesture and Pete Hegseth’s tattoo to the actual Nazi SS tattoo being no big deal. Remarkable media shift, highlighting yet again how in the pocket of the Left the press corps is.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) April 30, 2026
When you see Democrats celebrating assassinations and lamenting that Trump is still alive, it’s tempting to think it is a small minority online. And, to be sure, most Democrats will not openly opine on TikTok about it. But the fact that it is doctors, nurses, and teachers doing it so frequently tells you that it is not exactly out of bounds behind closed doors, and the fact that Hasan Piker and Graham Platner are rising stars tells you that Democratic Party voters are happy to embrace those who do.
SICK!
2025: Hasan Piker at the gym with Michigan Democrat Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed says he had a “productive day” talking “about Trump potentially dying.” pic.twitter.com/JjRO8xzaMv
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 27, 2026
Graham Platner is becoming the standard-bearer for the Democrats in Maine, and Abdul El-Sayid is on the way to being one in Michigan. This tells you where the Democrats are.
Maine, let’s send an oyster farmer to the U.S. Senate—and kick out Susan Collins. pic.twitter.com/Ag5sA10cK2
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) April 30, 2026
That “moderate” Democrats will vote for them—and they will—tells you where they are. This is not about policy disagreements; it’s about embracing a violent and hateful style of politics, justifying it, as all totalitarians do, with an appeal to virtue.
Hasan Piker: “America is, in its foundation, a white supremacist country. This is very frustrating for Republicans to hear, this is even frustrating for liberals to hear sometimes, but it’s just the truth” pic.twitter.com/erTx1Vr0Np
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) May 2, 2026
Hasan Piker just tweeted out photos of him reading Lenin’s “What Is to Be Done?” The whole point is the revolution, and Democrats seem fine with that.
The New York Times can’t condemn this? Instead, they share his opinions on their pages and podcasts, while Obama’s team platforms him.
Obama, The New York Times, Ezra Klein, the Senate Democrats, and presidential candidates are all endorsing this, and Democratic voters are taking it in stride.
Because, somehow, they claim this is how to fight the “Nazi” Republicans.
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