A day after Donald Trump's hate-fueled rally in Madison Square Garden, far-right writer Ryan Girdusky felt emboldened to attack panelist Mehdi Hasan for being Palestinian, implying he was a terrorist by saying, "I hope your beeper doesn't go off." But he soon realized he was outside of the MAGA lair when chaos ensued on set (see video below, posted by Acyn). And then Girdusky was kicked off the show. For good.
So what went down during the commercial break? As panelist Ashley Allison later explained on Instagram, "As soon as the segment ended, I pulled my phone out, and I started texting leadership at the network, saying this gentleman needs to be removed from the panel immediately."
Hasan had already taken off, no longer willing to engage with a toxic Trump-style bigot. And Allison said she couldn't imagine having to sit next to the vulgar gentleman for another 45 minutes "after he said such vile and disgusting things."
Fortunately, she didn't have to. As Allison explains, host Abby Phillip then told Girdusky he would have to leave the set. (See Allison's video here.)
CNN later put out a statement saying he would never be invited back to the network.
From CNN:
There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air. 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.