In a shocking exchange on CNN, conservative panelist Ryan Girdusky was kicked off Abby Phillip’s show and banned from the network after making a controversial remark about Muslim guest Mehdi Hasan.
The clash began after Hasan, a former MSNBC host, criticized President Donald Trump’s recent rally in New York City, likening it to a Nazi rally.
Girdusky, the founder of the 1776 Project PAC, quickly fired back by branding Hasan an antisemite, sparking a heated verbal exchange.
The situation escalated when Girdusky made a remark about Hasan’s “beeper going off,” which Hasan interpreted as a reference to a wave of deadly Hezbollah-linked bombings in Lebanon last month.
Hasan accused Girdusky of implying he should be killed, prompting outrage from the other panelists.
“Did you say I should die? You just said I should be killed,” Hasan asked Girdusky directly.
“No, no I did not say that,” Girdusky replied, before turning to host Abby Phillip and asking: “Did your guest just say I should be killed on live TV?”
Phillip quickly admonished Girdusky, stating: “That’s disgusting.”
Hasan then accused CNN of allowing someone on air “saying the Muslim guy should be blown up.”
Girdusky attempted to apologize, saying he had focused on Hamas, not Hasan.
But Hasan refused to accept the apology, demanding to know what Girdusky had meant by the “beeper” remark.
“Forget the racism, it’s ‘I should die.’ What does beeper mean? What did you mean by the beeper? At least have the guts to support your racist comment,” Hasan fired back.
Ultimately, Phillip called for a break, and when the show returned, she offered a direct apology to Hasan for Girdusky’s “completely unacceptable” remarks.
“There is a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me. It’s not acceptable to us at this network,” Phillip stated.
She later posted on X, “I take this very seriously and want to again apologize to [Hasan] and I hope he’ll join us another time.”
Neither Girdusky nor Hasan returned to the show, and a CNN spokesperson later confirmed that Girdusky would no longer be welcome on the network.
“There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air,” the spokesperson said.
“We will not allow guests to be demeaned or for the line of civility to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcomed back at our network.”
Girdusky responded angrily on social media, claiming that he had been dismissed while “you can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi.”
The incident comes amid ongoing tensions between conservatives and the mainstream media, with accusations of bias and unfair treatment often leveled against outlets like CNN.
The explosive clash on Phillip’s show has only served to further inflame these divisions.
