CNN Kicks Out, BANS Conservative Guest Girdusky for Making Beeper Joke at Mehdi Hasan

Curtis Houck
October 29th, 2024 9:58 AM

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On Monday, CNN NewsNight with far-left pundit Abby Phillip (who pretends to be a journalist) descended into chaos when our friend and conservative panelist Ryan Girdusky quipped to former Al Jazerra and MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan that “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” in reference to the exploding beepers across Lebanon targeting members of Hezbollah.

Following an explosion of hurt feelings and pearl-clutching by Phillip, Hasan, and far-left commentator Ashley Allison, Phillip threw to a commercial break and, after returning, announced Girdusky was kicked off the panel for having “crossed” “a line” that was “not acceptable to me” in terms of fostering “civility.” CNN subsequently announced Girdusky was banned from the network.

Of course, there was way more to this, starting with the build-up.

Watch the video and click “expand” to read the transcript of how the panel falsely claimed – despite insistences from Girdusky and former Congressman Scott Taylor (R-VA) – that the media have resorted to not only calling former President Trump Hitler, but his supporters as well and especially those who attended Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally:

TAYLOR: Listen, I think emotions are very high. We're eight days out from – from a camp – from the election, right? No question about it. I don't think either side is innocent of inflammatory rhetoric, for sure. I mean, look what, look what's happened. I don't think the President could have expected not to do this massive rally, which quite frankly, was historic, came out there and the media is just, oh, you know, he's a Nazi, it's Hitler and all this crazy stuff that they were saying. So, I think, in many respects, that rhetoric is much, much worse than what you just played there.

ABBY PHILLIP: Well, first of all, just to be clear, the – Hitler has entered the conversation because his chief of staff said that Trump, not the media, but Trump was the one who brought up Hitler.

RYAN GIRDUSKY: And five people who were there who said it didn't.

ASHELY ALLISON: Actually – actually Hitler – Abby –

PHILLIP: You're mixing, you're mixing anecdotes. That's not what happened.

ALLISON: – actually, Hitler entered the conversation because his running mate actually compared him to Hitler.

PHILLIP: There’s that too. There’s that too.

GIRDUSKY: That’s not why it happened.

ALLISON: That's when it actually entered the conversation years ago. No, that's how we brought Hitler into this conversation, because the person that Donald Trump pick to be his running mate compared to him to Hitler and then he changed his mind. Fine, change your mind. But then, somebody else verified. You know, take comedians for where they were. Bad choice, disgusting language. I would never buy a ticket to his show, but do it on a comedy stage. Not the president of the United States rally. And if you do it on the stage of a rally and the President, the responsibility of the person who wants to be the leader of the free world is to come out like John McCain did when somebody wanted to call Obama, what, a derogatory name said no, because that's what leaders do. But you know what? Nobody did that after he did it. People came out and they pout on and they pout on and they pout on and they pout on, but I'm not surprised, and I'm glad that the backlash actually came because some people – I was in Philly all day today. And believe it or not, even though Philly is in – and tomorrow's last day to vote early in Philly, so vote today, Philly, vote tomorrow, today, or on November 5, but if – if nobody – if you haven't been paying attention, I'm glad you start to pay attention now and see these people for who they are and what they think of you, what they think of black people, what they think of Jewish people –

GIRDUSKY: Oh my God.

ALLISON: – what they think of women –

GIRDUSKY: Okay.

ALLISON: – because they said it out of their mouth.

GIRDUSKY: Okay, that's not true at all. The fact is that they –

PHILLIP: I mean, but hold on, but they did – they did say –

GIRDUSKY: They weren’t calling – they weren’t calling –

PHILLIP: – look, we played the clips, Ryan.

GIRDUSKY: Okay.

PHILLIP: They said all of those things.

GIRDUSKY: But the media did not just say that Trump was Hitler. The media was saying that everyone who attended was Hitler.

TAYLOR: They were. They were.

PHILLIP: No, they didn't.

GIRDUSKY: Yes, they did. Yes, they did.

TAYLOR: Yes, they did, Ryan.

GIRDUSKY: Yes, they did over and over.

PHILLIP: Excuse me, Ryan.

GIRDUSKY: They called them –

PHILLIP: Hang on just a second.

GIRDUSKY: – anyone who attends are Nazis and fascists and Hitlers.

PHILLIP: Hang on just one second, one second, okay, because it's the hyperbole that's getting me. You said the media called everyone who attended –

GIRDUSKY: Yes, yes they did.

PHILLIP: – that rally Hitler?

GIRDUSKY: Yes, they did. Yes, they did.

PHILLIP: Okay. So, when we're off the show –

GIRDUSKY: They said, if you attend that rally, you are a fascist.

PHILLIP: – okay.

ALLISON: Well, let's talk about this table right here.

GIRDUSKY: I don't know what everyone said yesterday. I wasn’t on your Twitter accounts.

ALLISON: I didn't say anything.

GIRDUSKY: Okay.

ALLISON: I just watched [inaudible].

PHILLIP: Ryan – Ryan, that did not happen.

GIRDUSKY: Yes, it did. Yes, it did. Abby Phillips [sic], it 100 percent happened.

ALLISON: And waiting for someone like you to say something crazy.

PHILLIP: Mehdi, go ahead.

GIRDUSKY: It 100 percent happened.

Hasan finally chimed in and argued the Madison Square Garden rally speakers would have destroyed past Republican presidential campaigns with heated controversy, but Trump has skated by. Hasan stirred the pot by comparing other speakers to Nazi leaders, including Joseph Goebbels and said they were, in fact “Nazis.”

Girdusky first clapped back that “[y]ou're called an anti-Semite more than anyone in this table” given his virulently anti-Israel views and support for Palestinians.

Girdusky then dropped his little quip, which Hasan took to mean he should be killed on live TV: “Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”

The remaining few minutes of the block were in a perpetual state of cross-talk.

Girdusky apologized, but the damage was done with Allison calling him “disgusting” and Hasan lashing out that he’s “a racist, violent person inciting violence against me.”

“This is America in 2024. Forget the racism. It’s that I should die,” Hasan declared at one point, adding Girdusky’s apology was “fake” and “ignorant”

Hasan was incensed Girdusky was still there, lamenting: “Good job, CNN. CNN, let's have first bloc, say the Muslim guy should be blown up on TV!”

Phillip screeched that was Girdusky said was “completely out of pocket”, repeatedly telling him to shut up.

Click “expand” to read more of the back-and-forth we transcribed:

PHILLIP: You know that.

HASAN: – on TV.

GIRDUSKY: Then I apologize. I apologize.

PHILLIP: Okay. Don't say then I apologize. You literally accused him –

ALLISON: Don’t say it.

GIRDUSKY: I thought he said, Hamas. I apologize.

HASAN: You didn't think I said Hamas.

ALLISON: No, you didn’t.

HASAN: I said I'm in support of Palestinian rights.

GIRDUSKY: Yes, I did.

ALLISON: Why? Because when you hear Palestinians, you think Hamas?

HASAN: What's funny is Rudy Giuliani said this yesterday, so you're a great guest to be here to defend Rudy Giuliani's racism.

PHILLIP: No, give me – give me –

ALLISON: Alright, I told myself I wasn’t going to entertain nonsense right now.

PHILLIP: – give me one second.

ALLISON: And so, at this point –

HASAN: This is what we're in now.

ALLISON: – I can’t do this.

GIRDUSKY: Okay!

HASAN: This is America in 2024.

ALLISON: Here’s what I will say –

HASAN: Forget the racism.

ALLISON: – here’s what I’ll – that’s right.

HASAN: It’s that I should die.

ALLISON: That’s right.

GIRDUSKY: I didn't say that you should die.

HASAN: What does beeper mean? Don't give me a fake, ignorant –

GIRDUSKY: I did not say you should die.

PHILLIP: – guys – guys, give me a –

HASAN: – why did you say my beeper goes off?

ALLISON: What did you mean?

HASAN: What did you mean by the beeper? What did you mean by the beeper?

PHILLIP: – guys –

ALLISON: No, no, no, no, no.

GIRDUSKY: Do you support Hamas?

HASAN: No, you said, I hope your beeper doesn't go off.

PHILLIP: Ryan, stop talking, alright?

HASAN: At least have the guts to support your racist comment.

ALLISON: I'm so sorry. I’m sorry.

TAYLOR: Gotta bring it back.

PHILLIP: Alright – hang on.

ALLISON: This is why yesterday's rally was disgusting.

HASAN: Don't call us Nazis, but I'm going to threaten the brown guys –

ALLISON: This is why –

HASAN: – that terrorism killed him.

ALLISON: – because I didn't ever say Donald Trump was Hitler –

HASAN: Man.

ALLISON: – but do you know who sat on a stood on a stage yesterday and said I want to come to the Nazi rally? I don't have to make up words and call you something. You're saying it for yourself.

HASAN: And Kamala Harris is a pimp!

ALLISON: And what you just said right here, apologize, but I will tell you I don't accept that apology, and you didn't even say it to me.

GIRDUSKY: But that's fine. I didn't say it to you.

ALLISON: That was disgusting. But I can be offended when you don't even say it to me.

GIRDUSKY: That’s –

ALLISON: I'm not Puerto Rican, but I was offended by what he said yesterday.

GIRDUSKY: – okay.

ALLISON: And I'm offended that the former President and potentially future president would allow it and go for 12 hours and not say, I don't care, because you know what, when Kamala Harris put out statements about switching up opinions. It wasn't good enough for Republicans.

TAYLOR: Why are you looking at me?

ALLISON: Because you said it.

Taylor tried to have people calm down and told Allison to let Phillip “take this” show “back a little bit” since she was “monopolizing her show” feigning outrage for Hasan even though the comment wasn’t directed at her.

Allison was incensed, yelling at Taylor for not joining her in this rhetorical browbeating because “that says a lot about your character too.

A shaken Phillip addressed viewers going to break:

We have a lot of heated conversations on this show. That is true. But one of the things that I do not appreciate is when we cross the line, okay? I don't appreciate that. And I appreciate the apology, but I don't want a conditional apology for saying something that is completely – it is not civil in the slightest….We got to – we got to stop this stuff. We have to stop this stuff, okay? We're going to go to the break now because I don't think anybody was served by what just happened. But let this be a reminder that there is a too far. There's a too far in our politics and there's a too far at this table, okay? Let's not let that happen again.

After the break, Phillip made the hushed and shaken apology to Hasan and offended viewers (click “expand” to read it in full):

We're back here, and before we get started, I want to just address what happened in the last segment. First, I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable. When we get this discussion started, you'll see that Ryan is not at the table. There is a line that was crossed there, and it's not acceptable to me. It's not acceptable to us at this network. We want discussion. We want people who disagree with each other to talk to each other. But when you cross the line of a complete lack of civility, that is not going to happen here on this show. It's a heated time. We're in the middle of a political season. We are eight days from a presidential election. But we can have conversations about what is happening in this country without resorting to the lowest of the lowest kind of discourse. I want to address that and I want to apologize to the viewers at home because we want to be able to hear each other, we want to be able to talk to each other, and we plan to do that in this next segment.

To see the relevant CNN transcript from October 28, click here.

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