CNN pulled conservative activist and commentator Ryan Girdusky off the air and said he would not be invited back on the network following a bigoted outburst Monday night. The controversy occurred as pro-Trump voices (and Donald Trump himself) have accelerated racist rhetoric a week before the election.
During a roundtable discussion of Trump’s racist rally in Madison Square Garden during CNN’s “NewsNight,” progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan said he was used to derogatory comments from the right because he is a supporter of the Palestinian people.
“Well I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” Girdusky replied. The comment was a reference to an attack on Hezbollah members who had their pagers detonated, killing at least 37 people. Hassan called out Girdusky for the comment, asking, “Did you just say I should be killed?”
After a commercial break, host Abby Phillip said Girdusky had been removed and apologized to the other panelists for the inappropriate outburst. CNN later issued a statement that said the pundit “will not be welcomed back at our network.”
Girdusky, who has a history of racist comments, responded to CNN in a tweet, writing, “Apparently you can't go on CNN if you make a joke. I'm glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”
CNN has frequently been involved in controversy involving bigoted statements from pro-Trump pundits that it has hired or invited to comment. The incident and Girdusky’s response to criticism of his comments echoes what conservatives are doing in the final week of the presidential campaign.
Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City casually traded on racism and other forms of bigotry in service of Trump’s campaign. When conservatives have been harshly criticized for this behavior, the racism is dismissed as merely a joke or not serious.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, exemplified this when asked about MAGA comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s statement at the rally that Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.”
“Maybe it's a stupid, racist joke as you said, maybe it's not. I haven't seen it. I'm not going to comment on the specifics of the joke,” Vance said, adding, “But I think that we have to stop getting so offended at every little thing in the United States of America. I'm just—I'm so over it.”
But the backlash that the “jokes” have received show that, contrary to Vance’s argument, bigoted commentary in the middle of a serious election isn’t being brushed off. The conservatives making these types of arguments, echoing the rhetoric of Trump, are being forced through public pressure to be accountable for their words and actions, and people are not “over it.”
Ready to volunteer for this election? Our friends at Sister District do an excellent job mobilizing folks to support Democrats in strategic places. Click to join Sister District's National Phonebank and make calls to voters in crucial states.
