The Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, sparked an unexpected wave of online backlash and bewilderment on Wednesday after an image of progressive streamer Hasan Piker wearing underwear appeared on the venue’s massive jumbotron. While the move could’ve been an attempt by Republicans to attack Piker, it has nevertheless reignited certain allegations about the GOP, especially since the convention has once again coincided with the Grindr app crashing in Dallas from heavy usage.
The photograph was included in a narrated video shown during the Republican midterm convention, where Piker was featured alongside other clips attacking progressive politics and figures on the left. Rather than simply mocking Piker, however, the decision to use the particular photograph quickly became the subject of jokes across social media.
Piker himself appeared stunned when he saw the footage during his livestream. After pulling up the video, he reacted with disbelief and joked about the image being displayed at what he called “Trumpapalooza.”
He later posted about the moment on his social media accounts, joking that Republicans might actually help his political side by giving him the exposure, writing that they were “trying to make blexas happen.” Piker has notably supported Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico in his Senate campaign against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
People online are mocking the GOP convention instead
The image also prompted a flood of reactions from online commenters who questioned why Republicans selected a photograph that, in their view, could make Piker look more appealing rather than less. “Why would they choose a picture that makes him look good?” one commenter asked.
Another wrote, “They want him so bad,” while another joked that Republicans were “watching Hasan’s thirst traps and sharing amongst themselves.” The jumbotron image also became the setup for a series of jokes about an apparent Grindr outage reported in Dallas around the time the convention began. One commenter wrote that it was “the down bad detector,” while another joked about the number of people who would have to be online for Grindr to crash in Dallas.
Some commenters focused on the decision to blur part of the photograph. “Are they blurring out his shorts because they’d otherwise go weak at the knees?” one person joked. Others simply described the stunt as strange. “Okay, this is getting too weird,” one commenter wrote, while another added, “Things are getting weird in Dallas.”
For many, the backlash has highlighted the unusual nature of the Republican convention. What appeared intended as an attack on one of the left’s prominent online personalities instead generated widespread discussion about the image itself, with many commenters arguing that the choice had unintentionally turned Piker into the center of attention.
