GOP commentator Ryan Girdusky has been permanently banned from CNN following his outrageous and offensive remarks directed at Muslim journalist Mehdi Hasan.
During a heated exchange, Girdusky made a shocking comment: “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” a chilling reference to recent pager bomb detonations in Lebanon that killed and injured countless people.
The confrontation escalated after Hasan, addressing the rising tide of hate, stated, “if you don’t want to be called ‘Nazis,’ stop…” This prompted Girdusky’s repugnant retort, which Hasan rightfully interpreted as a threat to his life: “Did you just say I should die? Did you just say I should be killed live on CNN?”
Host Abby Phillip repeatedly tried to intervene, as Hasan demanded, “Are you a racist, violent person inciting violence against me?”
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Girdusky’s dismissive behavior was met with condemnation, with Phillip stating, “Ryan, that is completely out of pocket. You know that.”
“Then, I apologize,” Girdusky said.
However, his weak apology did little to quell the outrage as Phillip pressed on “Don’t say ‘then I apologize.’ You literally accused him—” before getting interrupted again by another heated exchange.
In a follow-up on X, Phillip expressed her deep concern, apologizing to Hasan and hoping to have him back on the show in the future. CNN also issued a firm statement, declaring that it “will not allow guests to be demeaned” and confirming that Girdusky “will not be welcomed back.”
Watch the clip and the follow up response below.
Girdusky to Hasan: I hope your beeper doesn’t go off pic.twitter.com/YmHhYnkDZ3
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 29, 2024
Sharing @CNN’s statement and a quick message from me about what happened on tonight’s show.
I take this very seriously and want to again apologize to @mehdirhasan and I hope he’ll join us another time. pic.twitter.com/O9l0Ftv5NZ
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) October 29, 2024
This incident underscores a troubling trend where toxic rhetoric and hate speech are increasingly tolerated.
