“It seems contrary to what my naysayers have been focused on, in the past three weeks of Donald Trump’s insane ramblings and bombing campaigns, this event has not been cancelled at all,” Piker said to a round of applause. 

Indeed, most of the remarks from U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Piker and Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee were oriented towards advocating for El-Sayed’s progressive platform and chastising the Trump administration. Nonetheless, the recent controversy still loomed over some of their comments.

Political think-tanks like Third Way warned that platforming Piker — whose past incendiary comments and staunch anti-Israel stance has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans — would further alienate voters in crucial swing states like Michigan.

MSU Hillel, a Jewish student group on campus, characterized Piker as a “known antisemite” in a statement to The State News following the rally’s announcement. Only an hour before the rally was set to begin, university leaders released a statement defending free speech principles while admonishing antisemitism and other forms of discrimination.

“We recognize that recent comments attributed to a speaker coming to campus, who the university did not invite, have caused pain and concern, particularly among members of our Jewish community,” the statement read. 

El-Sayed took time on Tuesday to dissuade any concerns of platforming antisemitism, saying during his remarks that “All of us love and revere our Jewish neighbors and Judaism because we love and revere people, which is exactly why we will not sit idly by while all tax dollars go to fund a genocide on behalf of a foreign government.”

Piker, speaking before El-Sayed, situated the criticism he’s faced in the broader context of how perspectives have shifted on the war in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.  He said that, at the time of Hamas’ first attacks on Israel, he would not have easily spoken his mind. But as protests on college campuses and across the county have continued, there is now a “sea change in attitude.”

That change in attitude, Piker said, is one reason why his only response to the current retaliation is “f—k ’em.”

Just as Zohran Mamdani engaged with Piker in the New York City mayoral race, El-Sayed is doing the same. Engaging with people who can connect with young voters, like Piker, is essential to winning any election, El-Sayed said during a press conference after the rally. 

Over 37,000 people logged on to Twitch to watch the event and students interviewed by The State News said Piker’s presence was a major drawing force for their attendance at the rally. 

Piker criticized Democrats who have focused too much on his partnership with El-Sayed and not enough on the war in Iran. 

“A lot of prominent Democrats spent the last two weeks, instead of developing the appropriate response to Trump’s mania, chose to repeat what corporate donors and foreign lobbyists and big donors have told themselves.”

El-Sayed himself responded to a question during the press conference about whether associating with Piker would make his candidacy “too progressive” for some voters, saying: “If perfectly inoffensive won elections, then Donald Trump would never have been President.”