Hasan Piker Says Democrats' Public Option Shows No Will for 'Material Changes'

Hasan Piker, the left-wing streamer, said that he reads any Democrat's pitch for a government-run public option as a sign that the politician is not serious about overhauling health care. He argued that Joe Biden floated the idea only to answer Bernie Sanders.

Piker made the remarks while interviewing Angela Gonzales-Torres, a Democratic Socialist challenging Representative Jimmy Gomez in California's 34th Congressional District. The general election is next Tuesday, November 3.

Hasan Piker on Joe Biden and the Public Option

Piker asked Gonzales-Torres, "How do you make the case to California 34 voters that a public option is a dead end?" After her answer, he offered his own interpretation of Biden's 2019–2020 primary run.

He said Biden floated a public option "exclusively because Bernie Sanders running on Medicare for all," and that once Biden won the nomination, "there was no interest whatsoever in advancing an expansion of the pre-existing health care safety nets."

"Anytime people say oh, we'll do a we'll do a public option I I immediately read that as you're not invested in actually delivering material changes," Piker said. "You're simply using this as a talking point knowing full well that people will stop demanding it."

He added that this is especially true when there are not many Democratic legislators willing to fight for it, and told his guest, "I feel like people like yourself are are going to be these these warriors that push for this."

Gonzales-Torres stayed on Medicare for All. She asked, "How are we actually gonna pass Medicare for all?" and later said that "Medicare for all is bare minimum."

What Happened to Biden's Public Option

Piker's account of Biden's motives is his own reading. The record shows the two plans competed openly in the primary. Biden introduced his health care plan in July 2019, at an estimated cost of $750 billion over 10 years. It would have kept the Affordable Care Act and added a Medicare-like public option, and Biden presented it as the alternative to Medicare for All, ABC News reported. "We should not be starting from scratch," Biden said at the time.

The plan did not survive his presidency. With a narrow Senate majority and no Republican support, Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan through budget reconciliation without a public option, and the Build Back Better bill, which also left one out, did not pass. By December 2021, PolitiFact rated the promise "Stalled". Democrats instead extended the larger ACA marketplace subsidies through 2025 in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Medicare for All vs. Public Option Polling

Polling does not fully support the idea that the public option was a distraction from what voters wanted. In a January 2020 KFF health tracking poll, 56 percent of adults favored Medicare for All and 68 percent favored a public option. Among Democrats, 77 percent backed Medicare for All and 85 percent backed a public option.

But opinion has moved in Piker's direction since then. A KFF poll conducted September 16 to 21 found that 66 percent of adults now favor Medicare for All, up from 53 percent in October 2020 and the highest level since KFF began asking. That included 84 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of independents, while 66 percent of Republicans were opposed.

Why Hasan Piker's Critique Lands Now

Piker's attack was aimed at his own side. Democrats hold a D+8.4 lead in PolitiKool's generic ballot average, even as the party's own image remains underwater, with a net favorability of −17.3 in PolitiKool's polling average.

The streamer has used his platform this fall to back left-wing challengers against what he called "do nothing Democrats."

What Happens Next

Gonzales-Torres and Gomez meet on the ballot next Tuesday under California's top-two system, which advances the two highest vote-getters in the primary to the general election regardless of party. Piker said Gomez "Technically co-sponsors Medicare for all" but also champions the Choose Medicare Act, which Piker described as a public option. Gonzales-Torres said she is working "to not just sponsor these bills like Gomez has but to actually fight for it."