CNN’s NewsNight host Abby Phillip took some time to address the racist comment made by conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky toward fellow panelist Mehdi Hasan, Adweek reports.
Things got heated during a segment of the show after Girdusky told Hasan, who is Muslim, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” allegedly about attacks in September 2024 where pagers and walkie-talkies used by hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria exploded, claiming the lives of 39 people. His words caused a blowout amongst other panelists, and Phillip said she had to kick Girdusky out of the studio during the commercial break. “I’ve never had to kick people off the show before,” she said.
“I didn’t expect the fact that it would happen last night. But it was a racist comment, and he said it to someone sitting right in front of him. It just was not appropriate.”
The exchange, which the anchor described as “trying to stop a bullfight in progress,” happened during a conversation regarding the NYC rally for former President Donald Trump on Oct. 27. As the event has been compared to that of a Nazi rally, Hasan told Girdusky that if he wants the comparisons to stop, then “stop doing, stop saying” correlating remarks. Girdusky responded that Hasan had been called an “antisemite more than anyone at this table.”
The book author apologized to Hasan on air but shortly after made a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, claiming it was a joke. “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media. Apparently, you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for,” he wrote.
According to the Associated Press, Girdusky’s comments resulted in his ban from CNN. The network released a statement saying, “There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air.” Phillip also apologized to her viewers on behalf of the network and acknowledged that she hopes Hasan will be back in the studio.
Before the commercial break, political commentator and fellow panelist Ashley Allison attempted to bring the conversation back full circle, reminding viewers why the rally held at Madison Square Garden was “disgusting and outrageous.” “I didn’t ever say that Donald Trump was Hitler, but do you know who stood on a stage yesterday and said, ‘I wanna come to the Nazi rally?’” the former National Coalitions director for the Biden-Harris campaign said.
“I don’t have to make up words and call you something. You’re saying it for yourself. And what you just said right there, apologize, but I don’t accept that apology, and you didn’t even say it to me, but that was disgusting.”
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