NewsNation sent prime time anchor Chris Cuomo to Israel in the wake of Hamas’s Barbarous assault on Israeli civilians and the unfolding war there. On Tuesday night, his team scored a seldom obtained get for American media: Osama Hamdan, the central spokesperson for Hamas. But after Cuomo teased the appearance and interviewed a survivor of the Hamas attack on the music festival, Hamdan took off his mic and fled before Cuomo ever got a chance to ask him a question.
“Now, we're going to have the main spokesperson for Hamas on tonight. I know some of you will be disgusted by that. I know some of you will be excited by that,” Cuomo announced near the top of his show.
Cuomo said he wanted to hear what Hamdan could possibly say to “justify what they've done in the name of anything that is about peace or about humanity,” and to “test what their own answers are to what's happening in the north and to what they have done to people here.”
Ahead of his interview with Hamdan, Cuomo spoke with two men who had family members abducted by Hamas terrorists: Nahar Neta whose mother was kidnapped, and Uri Raanan whose daughter and ex-wife were kidnapped.
He also spoke with a woman, Lee Sasi who was a survivor of Hamas’s attack on the music festival in southern Israel. She recounted having to hide under the bodies of the dead to hide from those doing the killing. “Everybody was dying in front of me...I was sitting on them and then they started throwing grenades. I had to bury myself under the bodies," she said.
Hamdan apparently didn’t like having to sit through listening to, at least, Sasi as he waited for his segment to come up because immediately following her interview, Cuomo announced, “Hamas’s spokesperson has walked away.”
“Now, obviously they were watching the show. We gave an opportunity to them in good faith to come on and make their case. He has decided to storm off during truthful accounts of what his organization has endorsed and committed on its own accord and interests. That is the reality,” Cuomo reacted.
He went on to note that Hamdan walking away spoke volumes: “He had an opportunity. He walked away. If he comes back, he'll still get the opportunity because that's the job. But if he walks away after listening to Lee and understanding the reality, that tells you what you need to know.”
At the end of the show, Cuomo wanted to quiet those who would claim they canceled on Hamdan and aired footage of his interaction with Cuomo’s executive producer Dusty, pulling out his earpiece and mic, and leaving the set:
CUOMO: He was watching the show. He was saying ‘I don’t like the studio, I thought we were going to be on.’
[Video plays]
OSAMA HAMDAN (to producer): I will give you one minute and then I will leave. Thank you. No, you didn’t tell me the situation would be like this. I will leave. Thank you very much.
[Video of Hamdan removing his mic plays while Cuomo talks]
CUOMO: So, he decided to walk away.
Cuomo concluded, saying, “You don’t have to be a mind reader” to know why he ran away, “He didn’t want to have to follow the reality of the pain his organization has caused. Hamas is a terror organization.”
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
NewsNation’s Cuomo
October 10, 2023
8:07:15 p.m.(…)
CHRIS CUOMO: The people there were massacred. They were destroyed for the sake of their destruction to be videoed and sent out. That's the reality. And that is the reality that Israeli forces are going to counter. Okay?
So, that's the setup of where we are and where we're headed. The main fuel here still remains the hostages. We've never seen anything like it. Now, we're going to have the main spokesperson for Hamas on tonight. I know some of you will be disgusted by that. I know some of you will be excited by that. You to both. I say let's see if Hamas can justify what they've done in the name of anything that is about peace or about humanity. Let's test what their own answers are to what's happening in the north and to what they have done to people here. We’ll see.
(…)
8:24:08 p.m. Eastern
CUOMO: Now, Dusty tells me – If you're new to watching our show, Dusty's my executive producer, she's my partner. She's often part of the show. She's in the control room. She says that Hamas’s spokesperson has walked away.
Now, obviously they were watching the show. We gave an opportunity to them in good faith to come on and make their case. He has decided to storm off during truthful accounts of what his organization has endorsed and committed on its own accord and interests. That is the reality.
He had an opportunity. He walked away. If he comes back, he'll still get the opportunity because that's the job. But if he walks away after listening to Lee [Sasi, music festival attack survivor] and understanding the reality, that tells you what you need to know.
We’re going to take a break now.
(…)
8:59:41 p.m. Eastern
CUOMO: To be clear, for those of you saying, “Oh, you were going to talk to Hamas, then you didn't because you’re biased,” please. All right? Know or be quiet. All right?
Here is the video of Osama Hamdan, the main spokesperson for Hamas. Dusty, show them what happened. He was watching the show. He was saying ‘I don’t like the studio, I thought we were going to be on.’
[Video plays]
OSAMA HAMDAN (to producer): I will give you one minute and then I will leave. Thank you. No, you didn’t tell me the situation would be like this. I will leave. Thank you very much.
[Video of Hamdan removing his mic plays while Cuomo talks]
CUOMO: So, he decided to walk away. And I’ll tell you why. You don’t have to be a mind reader. He didn’t want to have to follow the reality of the pain his organization has caused. Hamas is a terror organization.
(…)
