Left-wing streamer and political commentator Hasan Piker let loose with a series of enraged remarks targeting former New York governor Andrew Cuomo after the latter lost the New York City mayoral race to Democratic newcomer Zohran Mamdani.Piker is often described as the Joe Rogan of the left due to his influence among young men and progressive followers. He has publicly backed Mamdani many times. In October, Piker said he was “eternally grateful” to Mamdani, who identifies as a Democratic socialist, for his political views, he told Current Affairs. Mamdani had appeared on Piker’s YouTube channel in April ahead of the Democratic primary.On election night, a video posted to Piker’s channel shows him at Mamdani’s watch party in New York City. After learning of Mamdani’s victory, Piker looked into the camera and taunted Cuomo, saying, “Hey, what happened? I thought that ‘9/11. Hasan … Hasan loves 9/11.’ What happened? What happened? I thought that was a successful campaign strategy.” He followed up with a string of attacks directed at Cuomo. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations. After losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, he ran as an independent, finishing second with 41.6 percent of the vote to Mamdani’s 50.4 percent. In the months leading up to the election, Cuomo repeatedly slammed Mamdani for his association with Piker, particularly referencing the YouTuber’s 2019 comments that “America deserved 9/11.” Mamdani condemned the remarks during a mayoral debate, calling them “objectionable and reprehensible.”Days before the vote, a pro-Cuomo super PAC aired an ad using Piker’s 9/11 comments, showing footage of the Twin Towers with Mamdani superimposed, according to Newsweek. A voice-over said, “Zohran went on Piker’s show, and now Piker was just spotted at Zohran’s event. Mamdani is wrong for New York.”Piker’s election night video also showed his excitement over Mamdani’s win, calling it “awesome” and “amazing.” He added, “I no longer have to prove that this kind of politics works; I can just point to f****** Zohran. That’s how I feel. Whenever Democrats come to me and they say, ‘Oh, let’s do an autopsy of why this election went south, why that election turned south, why do the Democrats keep losing?’ I can just go, ‘That’s why.'”The video also showed Piker greeting Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a hug as they shared relief at Mamdani’s victory, which was finalised less than an hour after polls closed. Mamdani ran a progressive campaign focused on the cost of living in New York City, focusing on working-class issues, higher taxes on the wealthy, and promoting religious unity as part of his plan.
