Conservative commentator banned from CNN over outrageous remark during roundtable

CNN has pulled a conservative commentator off its guest list after a comment directed at a Muslim journalist triggered immediate backlash.

CNN has pulled a conservative commentator off its guest list indefinitely after a comment directed at a Muslim journalist triggered immediate backlash.

Author Ryan Girdusky was sitting on a panel discussing the divide between the left and right wings of US politics, including the current conflict unfolding in the Middle East.

CNN said it will no longer feature Ryan Girdusky after a heated exchange with Mehdi Hasan (CNN)

Girdusky told Mehdi Hasan (pictured) “’I hope your beeper doesn’t go off’.

During a heated debate with British-American broadcaster Mehdi Hasan on CNN Newsnight, Girdusky told Hasan “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off” — a phrase widely understood as a reference to recent deadly pager explosions targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon.

Girdusky and Hasan were initially debating comedian Tony Hinchcliffe’s recent string of controversial jokes that had overshadowed Donald Trump’s New York rally.

The discussion quickly turned into a yelling match, with Hasan pushing back against Girdusky’s claims of anti-Semitism.

“I’m a supporter of the Palestinians, I’m used to it,” he said.

“Did you just say I should die?”

Girdusky knew he’d messed up immediately.

As host Abby Phillip stepped in to address the comment, Girdusky tried to backtrack, claiming he misheard Hasan and thought he was expressing support for Hamas.

Following a commercial break, both Girdusky and Hasan had conspicuously exited the roundtable discussion.

Ms Phillip then apologised to Hasan and viewers, calling the comments “completely unacceptable.”

“When we get this discussion started you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table,” she said.

“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 can have conversations about what is happening in this country without resorting to the lowest of the low kind of discourse,” she said.

CNN shared an immediate statement addressing the on-air dispute, following the show.

“There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air... 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,” the statement read.

Girdusky took to social media smashing the broadcaster, claiming his outrageous comment was just an attempt at humour.

“Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke,” he wrote.

CNN was slammed online by pro-Palestine supporters following the exchange.

“CNN has played a central role in normalising this kind of open anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian hate, and it’s sadly totally unsurprising to see such disgusting statements aired so casually on its network now,” congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who is Muslim and Palestinian-American, wrote on X.