Right-wing commentator Ryan Girdusky was ejected from a CNN panel on Monday after he suggested a co-panelist was part of the Lebanese extremist group Hezbollah.
On CNN's NewsNight, journalist Mehdi Hasan, who is Muslim, was comparing former President Donald Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric to Hitler's Nazi rallies before he was interrupted by Girdusky, who is the former head of a pro-JD Vance Super PAC.
"You've been called an antisemite more than anyone at this table," Girdusky said, cutting off Hasan.
"By you," Hasan replied.
"By me? I never called you an antisemite," Girdusky shot back.
"I'm a supporter of the Palestinians, so I'm used to it," Hasan said.
"Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off," Girduski said, referring to an Israeli operation in September that planted explosives in the pagers of targeted Hezbollah members, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 3,000.
"Did you just say I should die?" Hassan said in disbelief, before turning to CNN host Abby Phillip to ask if her guest suggested he should "be killed on live TV."
Girdusky scrambled to justify his comment, claiming he thought Hassan was a supporter of Hamas. He eventually threw out a half-hearted apology to Hasan before the show abruptly went to break. Upon returning, Philip announced Girdusky had been kicked off the panel.
"First, I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable," Philip 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 on this network."
"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. And we plan to do that in this next segment," Philip added.
Despite being encouraged to stay, Hasan chose to leave the panel upon its resumption. CNN later banned Girdusky from appearing in the future.
"There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air," CNN said in a statement shared by Philip on X.
"We aim to foster thoughtful conversations and debate including between people who profoundly disagree with each other in order to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding. But 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," the statement reads.
In a tweet following the show, Girdusky attempted to brush off the comments as a joke and claimed that his removal from the show was representative of CNN's values.
"You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media," the MAGA commentator wrote. "Apparently you can't go on CNN if you make a joke. I'm glad America gets to see what CNN stands for."
