CNN barred a conservative commentator from its programs after he made on-air remarks on Monday that seemed to imply that another guest, the pundit Mehdi Hasan, was a member of Hezbollah.
The commentator, Ryan James Girdusky, had appeared regularly on CNN as a pro-Trump voice in recent weeks.
His comment was made on Monday’s episode of “NewsNight With Abby Phillip,” as a panel of commentators were embroiled in a contentious discussion over former President Donald J. Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
Mr. Hasan and Mr. Girdusky argued over whether Mr. Girdusky had previously referred to Mr. Hasan as an antisemite. (Mr. Girdusky said he had not.) Mr. Hasan said he was regularly called that label because “I’m a supporter of the Palestinians, so I’m used to it.”
“Yeah, well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” Mr. Girdusky replied, an apparent reference to the Israeli operation that exploded hundreds of pagers carried by members of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia, in Lebanon.
“Did you just say I should die?” Mr. Hasan replied. “Did you just say I should be killed live on CNN?”
Mr. Girdusky said he thought that Mr. Hasan had described himself as a supporter of Hamas and quickly tried to apologize. Other members of the panel objected — “That’s disgusting,” one said. Ms. Phillip, the host, cut off Mr. Girdusky, saying, “Ryan, that is completely out of pocket.”
When the show returned from a commercial break, Mr. Girdusky was no longer on set, and Ms. Phillip apologized to viewers. “There is a line that was crossed there, and it’s not acceptable to me,” she said.
CNN issued a statement shortly afterward. “There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air,” the network 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.”
Mr. Girdusky, who is the author of the book “They’re Not Listening: How The Elites Created the National Populist Revolution,” said on Tuesday: “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”
He later published a post on his Substack titled, “So You’ve Been Banned From a Cable News Network: My Best Advice for Future Banned Conservatives.”
The post CNN Bars Pro-Trump Guest After His ‘Beeper’ Remark to Mehdi Hasan appeared first on New York Times.
