Abby Phillip apologizes to viewers for guests' comments

CNN's NewsNight anchor and senior political correspondent Abby Phillip apologized to her viewers after she had to kick conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky from her show for his comments about Muslim journalist Mehdi Hasan.

CNN ejects guest who said to Mehdi Hasan, “I hope your pager doesn't go off.”

Apanelist was kicked off CNN host Abby Phillip's show on Monday after he told another guest, “I hope your pager doesn't go off” while discussing the rhetoric that erupted at the former president's New York rally Donald Trump was distributed on Sunday.

The comment was made by conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky, founder of the 1776 Project political action committee, to Mehdi Hasan, a progressive commentator of Indian descent and Muslim.

Trump's event at Madison Square Garden was met with intense backlash after several speakers made inflammatory or racist comments on stage. The controversy follows reports last week about Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly and other members of the Trump administration saying the former president repeatedly praised Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler.

Girdusky said during a heated panel on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip that “the media” called “everyone who attended” Trump’s rally “Hitler” and “a fascist” and spoke out in support of the former president.

Phillip interrupted Girdusky's comments and said, “That didn't happen.” Hasan then commented on Trump's rally, attacking the comments of speakers like comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and others who he said used the “language of the far right.”

“My problem is, I understand, no one wants to be called a Nazi. This is very inflammatory,” Hasan said, adding: “If you don’t want to be called Nazis, stop hurling rhetoric.”

Girdusky shot back at Hasan: “You've been called an anti-Semite more than anyone else at this table,” to which Hasan responded, “From people like you… I support the Palestinians, I'm used to that.”

Girdusky denied that he ever called Hasan an anti-Semite, adding, “Yeah, well, I hope your pager doesn't go off.”

Read more about Kaitlin Lewis' article Newsweek.

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