<img src="https://www.rawstory.com/media-library/former-u-s-representative-mike-rogers-speaks-on-the-day-of-u-s-president-donald-trump-s-speech-at-the-general-motors-proving.jpg?id=67578046&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C166%2C0%2C167"/><br/><br/><p>GOP Senate candidate <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2677660160/" target="_blank">Mike Rogers</a> mixed up Democratic candidate <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/abdul-el-sayed-2677657360/" target="_blank">Abdul El-Sayed</a> with progressive influencer <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/ashley-st-clair-hasan-piker/" target="_blank">Hasan Piker</a> on Wednesday — and swiftly drew backlash. </p><p>Rogers' response to the Democratic Senate nominee's victory attributed Piker's comments to the Michigan candidate just hours after voters cast their ballots for him.</p><p>"I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice," wrote Rogers, an Army veteran and former congressman. "Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11."</p><p>Piker, who campaigned for El-Sayed over the last several months, has gained a large following among progressive Democrats because of his criticisms of the U.S. government. </p><p>He has been scrutinized for his past comments around the Sept. 11 attacks, which he made in 2019 during a livestream. He later clarified in an interview with his uncle, Turkish-American activist and media host <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/maga-rep-wants-to-ban-progressive-star-in-us-after-he-was-turned-away-from-uk/" target="_blank">Cenk Uygur</a>, that the remarks were "inappropriate."</p><p>The internet reacted to Rogers' comments, calling him out for misidentifying El-Sayed and tying Piker's words to the Democratic nominee.</p><p>Democratic strategist Leslie Marshall called Rogers out for not knowing the difference between the two men.</p><p>"That was Hasan Piker. A different person. But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike," Marshall <a href="https://x.com/LeslieMarshall/status/2085035451094548499" target="_blank">wrote</a> on X.</p><p>David Weigel, who covers politics for Semafor, responded to the mistake.</p><p>"The Hasan-Abdul transitive property on display; Rogers says he’s running against someone who 'believes America deserved 9/11,'" Weigel <a href="https://x.com/daveweigel/status/2085025088911360121" target="_blank">wrote</a> on X. </p><div class="rm-embed embed-media"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">That was Hasan Piker <br/>A different person <br/>But I guess to Mike Rogers all those Brown people look alike <a href="https://t.co/VCqHx3lZE5">https://t.co/VCqHx3lZE5</a><br/>— Leslie Marshall (@LeslieMarshall) <a href="https://x.com/LeslieMarshall/status/2085035451094548499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js"></script></div> via Raw Story https://ift.tt/hlw8SIz
