State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Thursday called for his opponent in the Tennessee 9th Congressional District race, State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), to “renounce” Hasan Piker, the influential outside campaigner for Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates who has called for a “cultural revolution” in the United States, followed by “Chinese style communism,” in order to imprison his political opponents within the Democratic Party.
“I am asking my opponent, Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson, to renounce his association with Hasan Piker,” said Taylor in a Thursday post to X, noting that Pearson appeared with Piker for a 90-minute live stream in June.
He stated, “Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson is more than willing to promote Hasan Piker and appear on his live stream.”
I am asking my opponent, Democratic Socialist Justin Pearson, to renounce his association with Hasan Piker.
Hasan Piker just said he wants to “throw you in prison,” impose “Chinese-style communism” inside the Democratic Party, and run Cultural Revolution-style struggle sessions… pic.twitter.com/Wr4lfE3dIO
— Brent Taylor (@BrentTaylorTN) September 24, 2026
Taylor’s call for Pearson to disavow the streamer comes after clips of Piker calling for revolution and communism were viewed more than 3 million times on X by press time.
“I will throw you in prison, okay? I want to put you, physically, behind a prison,” said Piker in a clip uploaded by television personality and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.
Piker stated, “I want Chinese-style communism to happen inside of the Democratic Party right now, okay? I want to do cultural revolution s*** when I see that.”
"I will throw you in prison. I want Chinese style communism to happen inside of the democratic party right now. I want to do cultural revolution shit."
Hamas Piker just flat out admits he wants to imprison and kill democrats in a literal communist revolution. These are animals. pic.twitter.com/izogonoalg
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) September 23, 2026
A longer clip of Piker’s comments, also uploaded to X, revealed his remarks were directed toward U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“Okay, we’re doing a struggle session,” said Piker. “Chuck Schumer, get on the f****** cuck stage now.”
The word “cuck,” short for “cuckold,” is historically defined as a man whose wife cheats on him, but it has been used in American politics since at least 2016 to describe a weak or unreliable male politician.
Piker continued, “People can now throw their old tomatoes at Cuck Schumer. Get on the cuck stage now, explain to us your counterrevolutionary behavior right now, Cuck Schumer.”
"I want Chinese style communism to happen inside of the Democratic Party. I want to do cultural revolution shit. We're doing a struggle session Chuck Schumer… people can now throw their old tomatoes at Cuck Schumer"
— Hasan Piker fantasizes about a new Cultural Revolution pic.twitter.com/GNstKZQefn
— fauxstonox (@fauxstonox) September 23, 2026
While the clips of Piker’s comments appear to have been uploaded to X for the first time earlier this week, The Tennessee Star was able to determine the far left streamer originally made them during his January 28, 2025 live stream from Japan. Piker was directing his comments at Schumer and other Democrats over their response to early actions taken by President Donald Trump after he returned to the White House for his second term.
Nearly 17 months after making those comments, Piker hosted a live stream featuring Pearson, as well as Melat Kiros, a DSA member who is now the Democratic Party nominee for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, and Michigan State Representative Donavan McKinney (D-District 11), a DSA member and Democratic Party nominee for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
During the live stream, Piker asked Pearson about his “opps,” prompting the Tennessee Democrat to describe Taylor as a “weirdo” who is “defending ICE concentration camps.”
Pearson told Piker, “I always say it’s not you yet. But that’s why you fight for immigrant communities. That’s why you fight for queer people. That’s why you fight for women, because my mom always talks about the terrible things. Right? Like, first they come for these folks.”
Later in the live stream, Pearson suggested that candidates who receive support from streamers like Piker will be more successful than those with the backing of the Democratic Party’s establishment.
“I think we’re stronger than the establishment machine. I mean, the reality is and we were saying this a lot today, but people power is more powerful because here’s the thing about establishment Democrats,” Pearson told Piker.
“Here’s why they have to go to these attack ads. They haven’t knocked doors in decades. They haven’t built relationships with voters in years,” said Pearson. “And they can’t [because] their policies are so a** usually.”
Piker is notably the nephew of progressive commentator Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks. In 2019, Piker said “America deserved 9/11.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Hasan Piker and Justin Pearson” by Brent Taylor.
