A left-wing streamer who apparently used a shock collar on his dog during a live stream said Tuesday night that it was unfortunate that the Soviet Union lost the Cold War.

Hasan Piker, whose use of the collar on his dog while streaming generated criticism from Vice President J.D. Vance, had earlier been kept out of the VIP area of Democratic Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani of New York City’s election night party. A reporter from BreakThrough News on its livestream of Mamdani’s election-night rally asked Piker about the fact that Mamdani won despite being labeled a “communist” by critics, including President Donald Trump.

“I think we are in the heart of the imperial core. This is the country that defeated the USSR, unfortunately, and the reality of the matter is, there’s a lot of antagonism,” Piker said. “There’s no class consciousness in the United States of America. It’s one of the things I try to address every day with my commentary.”

WATCH:

Should Hasan Piker be criticized for his comments on the Cold War and his treatment of his dog?

Support: 0% (0 Votes)

Oppose: 0% (0 Votes)

“And I will say this: The conditions have deteriorated so much that everyday Americans, in spite of their lack of class consciousness, are finally arriving at the conclusion that perhaps there is an alternative out there, there is an alternative that focuses on them, as opposed to the interests of the billionaires and millionaires, as opposed to the interests of the capital owners,” Piker continued. “And, I mean, you can’t help but notice that. You can’t help but feel at least a little bit of excitement around that.”

Over 100 million people died at the hands of communist regimes, led by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which was established in 1917 after the Bolshevik Revolution overthrew the Russian monarchy, according to the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Streamers and Reddit posters unearthed multiple instances of Piker apparently using the device or the threat of activating the device to keep his dog Kaya sitting in a more photogenic location during his live streams. Suspicions that Piker was using the device were sparked when Kaya yelped during one of Piker’s livestreams.

“He’s been using a shock collar on a setting so high that his dog FUCKING SCREAMS when he uses it,” Tectone, a fellow streamer, said in an Oct. 7 post on X showing a clip where Piker appeared to activate a device placed under his desk just before the dog yelped.

Shock collars can cause dogs to suffer from stress and anxiety while also leading them to engage in less desirable behavior and aggression, according to Dogster.com.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].