CNN Drops MAGA Pundit After Insanely Racist On-Air Exchange

After cutting the cord a few years ago, I briefly resubscribed to a streaming cable package when Kamala Harris accepted the nomination three months ago, mainly to watch cable news. After a couple of weeks, I remembered why I don’t normally watch it. MSNBC is a comfort for liberals during election season, but I’ll be honest: I don’t entirely trust it. It often feels like the network tells me what I want to hear—especially Maddow, who sometimes turns molehills into mountains—rather than what I might need to hear. It’s the truth, sure, but it sometimes creates a false impression that some terrible thing done by Donald Trump or the Republicans will actually have consequences.

CNN isn’t much better. Their double standards for Harris and Trump are maddening, especially how they treat Harris as a typical candidate when she’s up against, well, “human paint fumes.” But at least their roundtable pundits don’t just serve up what I want to hear. And, perhaps to some people’s dismay, I like Jake Tapper (he’s also a decent novelist!). CNN usually includes one old-school Republican—one of the few who criticize Trump for the right reasons—but they also insist on having one MAGA mouthpiece. And it’s almost always a guy.

The MAGA guy—often Scott Jennings—is essentially a Trump publicist, not a pundit. He brings zero value, because no matter what Democrats do well, he’ll trash them, and no matter how poorly the Republicans behave, he’ll twist and contort to praise them. His purpose is simply to rile everyone up.

Case in point: During CNN’s Newsnight last night, Trump surrogate Ryan Girdusky made a shockingly Islamophobic comment to Mehdi Hasan, who had expressed support for the Palestinian people (not Hamas). I watched the exchange right before bed, and my jaw dropped.

Girdusky: I never called you an antisemite.
Hasan: I’m a supporter of Palestinians, so I’m used to it.
Girdusky: Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.
Hasan: Did you just say I should die? Did you just say I should be killed live on CNN?

However Girdusky defends it, that wasn’t a “joke.” He effectively called Hasan a terrorist. There was some back-and-forth chaos, and Abby Phillip, the host, couldn’t regain control. Girdusky seemed to realize he crossed a line and half-heartedly tried to apologize, but Hasan wasn’t having it. “Forget the racism. He just wants me to die,” he said.

After a commercial break, Girdusky was gone. “First, I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table,” Abby Phillip announced. “It was completely unacceptable. Ryan is not at the table because a line was crossed, and that is not acceptable to me or to this network.”

“We want discussion and people with different perspectives talking to each other, but crossing the line into a lack of civility isn’t going to happen here. Yes, it’s a heated time—eight days from a presidential election—but we can discuss what’s happening in this country without stooping to the lowest discourse.”

After the show, CNN issued a statement banning Girdusky from the network:

“There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air. We aim to foster thoughtful conversations and debate, even between those who profoundly disagree, to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding. But we will not allow guests to be demeaned, nor the line of civility to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcomed back at our network.”

Soon after, Girdusky defended himself on social media with predictable nonsense.

Even Robert Greenblatt of the ADL commented on how outrageous the “joke” was—which, honestly, surprised me (I’m no fan of Greenblatt):

Now, do Scott Jennings. Because, yes, I appreciate hearing all viewpoints, but the “MAGA guy” isn’t providing a genuine perspective—he’s delivering a flamethrower. If CNN wants to push back against fascism, it can start by not inviting fascist enablers onto the show.