Right-wing panellist banned from CNN after on-air threat to journalist Mehdi Hasan

A segment on CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip on Monday night saw right-wing panellist Ryan Girdusky make a controversial remark toward journalist Mehdi Hasan, resulting in Girdusky’s ban from the network.

During a discussion about Donald Trump’s recent rally at Madison Square Garden, Girdusky told Hasan, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” a reference to recent Israeli attacks on Lebanon in September which resulted in pager-activated explosives leading to thousands of Lebanese people being killed or injured. The comment came after Hasan expressed support for Palestinians.

Hasan, a Muslim journalist and founder and editor-in-chief of Zeteo News, reacted in shock, asking, “Did you just say I should die?"