Mike the Mad Biologist

At least Republicans think so (boldface mine):

Yes, that Hasan Piker, the hard-left Twitch streamer who has infuriated Democratic elites with his efforts to push the party leftward and to a more pro-Palestinian position. The anti-Piker strategy may have started with Dems and their think tanks but boy, did it end up being a uniquely hysterical and sometimes horny obsession in Republican circles and right-wing media.…

The Trump White House, including leading policy architect Stephen Miller, rants and raves about Piker, dubbing him “the new consultant and strategist for the Democrat[ic] Party,” in what Trump officials have told me is a deliberate attempt to tie Dem candidates to Piker’s “extremism,” in the hope it will drag down liberal candidates during the midterms…

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has plowed considerable resources and money into trying to turn Piker into the face of the Democratic opposition, smugly declaring in a joke letter to the Federal Election Commission that Piker’s “direct campaign activities” are “in-kind contributions to the Republican Party.” And the Trump-backed Mike Rogers – who is running against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan in one of the most pivotal Senate races in an absurdly high-stakes election cycle – has made Piker’s connection to El-Sayed a major part of his campaign; there’s a recent, Rogers-approved TV ad that almost makes it seem like Rogers thinks he’s running against Piker…

“It was such a retarded thing to do,” one longtime Trump adviser told me recently. I quibble with a) the past-tense framing because the party is still doing it, and b) the use of the slur. Having said that, I’m printing it because not only is it the Trump administration’s favorite word, apparently, but because not one but two (or three? I’m honestly losing count) Trump advisers or GOP operatives very close to the White House independently used the R-word to describe the party-wide decision to invest resources in elevating Piker…

“No one knows who this asshole is,” one Republican operative close to Trump says, adding: “We aren’t breaking through to voters with this guy, unless you count people who are voting Republican anyways.”

…McLaughlin also sent me a link to one of his most recent polls that shows the “battle for Congress remains close, but our latest national survey contains a clear warning for Republicans: Democrats continue to lead on the generic congressional ballot, while the Republican advantage on the capitalism-versus-socialism question has narrowed sharply.”

As a matter of psychology, I’m managing my expectations for the 2026 elections downward, but the analytical part of my brain keeps telling me there’s new evidence every day that the midterms are going to be really bad for Republicans.

Also, now can we stop talking about Piker?