Harold Hutchison
CNN fired conservative commentator Ryan James Girdusky after a heated Monday night exchange that started after former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan defended calling Trump supporters Nazis.
CNN host Abby Phillip shared a CNN statement that said Girdusky would not be allowed on the network after the fiery exchange, and apologized to Hasan following the incident. Girdusky had earlier clashed with Phillip over media portrayals of Trump’s Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden before Hasan and Girdusky’s heated exchange.
“Nobody wants to be called Nazis. It‘s very inflammatory, but if you don‘t want to be called Nazis, stop doing-” Hasan said after making the comparison, prompting Girdusky to cut in and say, “You’re called an antisemite more than anyone at this table,”
“Are you calling me an antisemite?” Hasan asked, with Girdusky responding, “No, I’m just saying people call you that.”
Hasan has been a vociferous critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas that killed over 1,200 people.
“I’m used to it because I support the Palestinians,” Hasan said.
“Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” Girdusky responded, referring to an Israeli operation that targeted the radical Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah. Girdusky apologized repeatedly for the remark, saying he thought the former MSNBC host mentioned Hamas.
Girdusky was removed from the panel and Phillip later addressed the exchange on-air after a commercial break.
“I want to just address what happened in the last segment. First, I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable,” Phillip said. “When we get this discussion started, you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table. There is a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me, 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.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, have escalated attacks on Trump, labeling him a “fascist” during an Oct. 24 CNN town hall. Walz compared Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden to a 1939 rally by Nazi sympathizers Sunday. “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski called the rally at Madison Square Garden hate speech Monday, while Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson compared it to the Nazi rally on the MSNBC morning program Tuesday.
“You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media,” Girdusky posted on X after the exchange. “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”
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