CNN Bans Conservative Commentator for 'Beeper' Comment

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Facts

  • Conservative commentator and 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan Girdusky has been banned from CNN following comments made toward British journalist Mehdi Hasan during Monday's show 'NewsNight with Abby Phillip.'[1]
  • After Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of media organization Zeteo, stated that he was a 'supporter of the Palestinians,' Girdusky responded by stating, 'I hope your beeper doesn't go off.' Girdusky apologized, claiming he thought Hasan said 'Hamas' rather than 'Palestinians' before being removed at the next commercial break.[2][3]
  • Girdusky's comments come after pagers and hand-held radios used by Hezbollah exploded last month across Lebanon and Syria, killing at least 39, including two children, and injuring thousands in an attack widely attributed to Israel.[4][5]
  • Host Abby Phillip apologized to Hasan, who also left the show during the commercial break. Phillip later shared on X a statement from CNN stating that there was 'zero room for racism or bigotry' at CNN and Girdusky 'will not be welcomed back at our network.'[6][7]
  • Posting on X after the incident, Girdusky alleged CNN would ban guests for a 'joke' but would not take action against those who 'falsely call every Republican a Nazi' and 'have taken money from Qatar-funded media.'[8]
  • Prior to Girdusky's 'beeper' comment, the panelist alleged that US media had described everyone who attended Trump's Madison Square Garden rally as Hitler. Hasan also hosts 'Head to Head' on Al Jazeera, which is partly funded by Qatar's government.[9][10][2]

Sources: [1]Newsweek, [2]CNN (a), [3]CNN (b), [4]Verity, [5]Associated Press, [6]Daily Mail, [7]USA Today, [8]X, [9]Al Jazeera (a) and [10]Al Jazeera (b).

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by The New Republic and Mediaite. Vile comments like Girudsky's have no place on a tolerant platform such as CNN. Debate and disagreement should always be encouraged, but the broadcaster should've known better than to allow a far-right Project 2025 fanatic on live TV. This merely reaffirms that the MAGA movement is underserving of the attention the media continues to provide.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Trendingpoliticsnews and Washingtontimes. Having consistently likened Trump and his supporters to Hitler and the Nazis, CNN's double standards were once again on full display. It is clear that, despite being perfectly comfortable using inflammatory language when it suits them, the liberal media cannot handle comments that don't conform to its way of thinking.

Predictions