(PM.) Political commentator Ryan Girdusky has been banned from CNN after making a quip that he hoped fellow political commentator Mehdi Hasan’s “beeper doesn’t go off.” The two were engaged in a heated discussion on NewsNight with Abby Phillip about Israel and the war in Gaza and the Middle East.
First Hasan intimated that Girdusky and those who back Israel are Nazis, saying, “If you don’t want to be called Nazis, stop doing, stop saying—” He was drowned out by the others on the six-person panel, including Girdusky. Hasan has been outspoken in defense of Palestinians against Israel. Palestinian terror group Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel has been fighting them ever since.
“You’re called an antisemite more than anyone at this table,” Girdusky said, breaking through the noise. Hasan agreed that was true and claimed that Girdusky had called him that as well.
Girdusky denied the allegation, saying, “No, not by me, I never called you an antisemite—”
“Well, I’m a supporter of the Palestinians, so I’m used to it,” Hasan said.
“I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” Girdusky said, attempting to continue on to make his point. But it was not to be, the panel devolved into accusations that Girdusky was saying Hasan should be killed. Earlier this fall, beepers carried by members of Lebanese terror group Hezbollah exploding, injuring many, killing a few, and making it clear who was a member of that group.
Hasan says hes used to being called an antisemite, Girdusky quips “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”
— Libby Emmons (@libbyemmons) October 29, 2024
“Oh, wow,” said one panelist, apparently gob smacked by the remark. “You just said I should be killed, on live TV,” Hasan said.
Girdusky apologized as Hasan accused him of being “a racist, violent person inciting violence” against him.
“That is completely out of pocket,” said the host. Girdusky said he thought Hasan was saying he was a supporter of Hamas. Hasan has previously said that there’s no way to “get rid of Hamas” and that the children of Gaza will grow up to seek revenge on Israel.
He has said that Israel is “not trying to defeat Hamas” but that they are seeking to “erase the population” and commit a “genocide.” He has called Israel “genocidal in their approach.” He has accused Israel of creating Hamas, a terror group that has been backed and funded by Iran.
The panel ganged up on Girdusky, accusing him of saying that Hasan should die. Everyone tried to gain the floor and Girdusky was instructed to “stop talking.” Then they brought it back to making comparisons between Donald Trump and Hitler. Panelist Ashley Allison instructed Girdusky to apologize but said, “I don’t accept that apology.”
Allison said she was offended by what he said and was offended by a joke made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe on stage at Trump’s rally. “I’m offended that the former president and potentially future president would allow it.” She then went on off on a tangent about her opinion on Republicans.
When the panel came back from a commercial break Girdusky was no longer on the panel. He was sent off at the request of the network. Hasan was also not there, though Philip said he left of his own accord. Phillip said she wanted Hasan to remain on the panel, “In fact we really wanted him to come back and finish the show.”
“There is a line that was crossed there, and it’s not acceptable to me,” Phillip said. “It’s not acceptable to us at this network. We want discussion. We want people who disagree with each other to talk to each other. But when you cross the line of a complete lack of civility, that is not going to happen here on this show. It’s a heated time. We’re in the middle of a political season. We are eight days from a presidential election, but we can have conversations about what is happening in this country without resorting to the lowest of the lowest kind of discourse. I want to address that and I want to apologize to the viewers at home, because we want to be able to hear each other, we want to be able to talk to each other.”
Sharing @CNN’s statement and a quick message from me about what happened on tonight’s show.
I take this very seriously and want to again apologize to @mehdirhasan and I hope he’ll join us another time. pic.twitter.com/O9l0Ftv5NZ
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 29, 2024
