California state Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat running to replace former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Congress, was confronted by anti-Israel hecklers during San Francisco's Trans March at Dolores Park on Friday, an encounter that drew widespread mockery from conservatives after videos of the incident went viral.
The videos, viewed millions of times on social media platform X, showed multiple protesters surrounding Wiener and shouting profanity-laced insults. In one clip, a heckler told Wiener directly: "We f---ing hate you!" The confrontation occurred as Wiener walked through the event venue and moved away from the crowd.
Wiener, who is Jewish and gay, was also targeted at a San Francisco bar last Wednesday while watching a World Cup game, according to his office. That incident also circulated online.
What the Left Is Saying
Wiener's office released a statement calling the encounters "harassment, threatened, and physically intimidated" and said such behavior crosses a line in democratic discourse.
"I have no objection whatsoever to anyone disagreeing with me, opposing me, or protesting me," Wiener said. "All of that is core to democracy." He added: "But when opposition and disagreement transition to harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line."
Progressive commentators who defended Wiener pointed to his extensive liberal voting record in the California Senate. Some argued he was targeted for evolving his position on Gaza after previously declining to use the word "genocide" before reversing course in January and saying he believed Israel's actions qualified as such.
XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey, a pro-Israel voice who has spoken publicly about her views, posted: "For the Jews thinking you can play footsie with these people… they just hate you because you're a Jew. That's it."
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives used the incidents to criticize what they described as an increasingly hostile progressive movement.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro posted: "No one more richly deserves this humiliation than Scott Wiener, who learns the hard lesson that you can be a militant for trans radicalism, a full-scale Israel-hater, and an all-around moral derelict...and the hard Left will still yell at you for being a Jew."
Political commentator Tim Pool wrote: "The left deserves itself," while Charlie Kirk Show executive producer Andrew Kolvet posted that Wiener had enabled policies he now faces backlash for.
Reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who Wiener previously criticized on social media, posted: "Every stupid communist learns this history lesson the hard way."
What the Numbers Show
One video of the Trans March confrontation was viewed more than 11 million times on X, formerly Twitter, as of publication.
Wiener has represented San Francisco in the California State Senate since 2016. He is running for California's 8th Congressional District seat that Pelosi held before stepping down from congressional leadership roles.
The Bottom Line
The incidents highlight ongoing tensions within Democratic coalitions over Israel policy and the treatment of Jewish officials who have faced criticism for their positions on the Gaza war. Wiener's evolution on describing Israel's actions as genocide did not shield him from protests, according to critics. His campaign to succeed Pelosi in Congress continues amid these confrontations.