In Monday’s CNN‘s NewsNight, host Abby Phillip threw conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky off the panel after sparring with journalist Mehdi Hasan got heated. The debate started as an argument over inflammatory recent remarks at a New York Trump rally but soon escalated when Girdusky said something to Hasan that most heard as a veiled threat. Girdusky’s remark, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” made Phillip move to deliver a live on-air apology to Hasan, then took Girdusky off the debate.
The discussion began with a video compilation of controversy-ridden moments from former President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, during which speakers made inflammatory remarks-including derogatory comments on Puerto Rico and divisive statements about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Progressive commentator Hasan said the rally is “using the language of the far right,” an approach that he believes serves to heighten tensions and fan divisiveness.
Girdusky defended Trump, saying media personalities like Hasan brand rally-goers as “Nazis” and “fascists.” Hasan shot back that such language comes from the inflammatory tenor of the rally. When Girdusky made a pointed comment referencing a tactic once used in a previous conflict, Phillip jumped in to interrupt and cut to a commercial. Returning to the show, she declared Girdusky had crossed a line, declaring such comments could not be tolerated and reaffirming he would not be brought back onto the network.
CNN issued a statement indicating a renewed commitment to civility by saying there is “zero tolerance for racism or bigotry” on its platform. After the break, no member of the panel except Girdusky discussed with the host anything associated with the incident involving Girdusky, when Phillip clarified that he and all other members were “open to returning next year as long as there continues to be a conversation among different perspectives.” This topic of discussion has since erupted among a social media circle concerning how people are responding to such incidents.
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