A recent incident involving CNN’s removal of far-right activist Ryan Girdusky from a panel discussion has sparked a wider conversation about the media’s role in confronting extremism. Girdusky’s removal, which occurred during a commercial break after he made a violently bigoted remark targeting progressive Arab-American commentator Mehdi Hasan, has garnered significant attention within the media community.
Girdusky’s comment, which implied Hasan’s affiliation with the Gaza militant group Hamas, is not an isolated incident. The event at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, where a range of speakers disparaged Latinos, Black people, Palestinians, and Jews, and made vulgar references to Kamala Harris, exemplifies the pervasive presence of bigotry within certain circles. Notably, the Trump campaign has distanced itself from only one of these statements, a line from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe: “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. Yeah. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
Matthew Sheffield, a podcaster and former Republican ‘operative’, has voiced his concerns about this trend on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “CNN just removed a far-right panelist for a racist remark against progressive commentator @mehdirhasan. This was the right decision. But as a former TV booker, what happened is part of a much bigger problem.” Sheffield, who previously worked as a producer at @thehill on its ‘Rising’ program, emphasizes the challenges faced by mainstream media in finding balanced panelists for their discussions. “Like all mainstream media shows, we were constantly trying to have balanced panel discussions. But we always had a problem: It was very difficult to find Republicans who weren’t crazy.”
Sheffield recounts his experiences booking right-wing commentators, highlighting the difficulty in identifying qualified, respectful conservative voices without ties to extremism. He reveals that he often had to vet potential guests before they appeared on air, stating, “More than a few times, people who were white nationalist “alt-right” ideology activists were booked before I removed them,” he noted. “We had people offered who had made racist remarks, people who had stalked women, etc.” Sheffield points out that while mainstream media attempts to include conservative voices, the Republican media landscape does not reciprocate these efforts.
He further underscores the Republican insistence on maintaining the ‘crazy’ in their ranks, noting that they were offered panelists ‘who espoused Christian supremacist views, rendering them incapable of engaging objectively on topics like Israel or Islam.’ Sheffield argues that “the biggest beneficiaries of affirmative action in media are Republican commentators.” He emphasizes that mainstream media’s desperation for civil dialogue in the age of Trump often leads to the same individuals being featured repeatedly, despite their controversial views. “Republican elites have a huge quality problem on their side but they don’t care to do anything about it. That’s because they realized that engaging in informational hygiene would shrink their very unstable coalition,” he wrote. “They’ve chosen extremism over centrism. And never get called on it.”
Sheffield stresses the importance of media platforms ceasing to amplify dishonest and bigoted perspectives. “We don’t need the bigots,” he said. “Reporters can present these views and their significance. Until CNN and other outlets return to regular standards, they’re going to keep having their right-wing commentators engage in self-destructive acts.” He also highlights the adverse effects of “both sides” narratives, arguing, “The irrational ‘both sides’ fetish has created a dynamic where it is more controversial to call a fascist than it is for Republican politicians to praise Hitler like Trump and Mark Robinson do.”
“Calling a Nazi a Nazi is more controversial than being an actual Nazi!” Shefflield contested. “False accusations of extremism against Democrats, often perpetuated by figures like Donald Trump, distort public perception. Trump’s campaign has branded Democratic nominee Kamala Harris with labels such as “communist” and “fascist,” even as he and other Republicans, like the party’s North Carolina gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson, openly praise figures associated with fascism.” he added.
Addressing Ryan Girdusky specifically, Sheffield stated, “He is a full-on racist and radical Christian supremacist who has written for racist activist Richard Spencer. He has been running an operation to block Black and LGBT authors from school curricula. He should’ve never been on CNN.”
“Given how empowered that reactionaries and authoritarians have become within one of America’s two major political parties, the ideas of Trump and other extremists must be presented to the public. But we do not need to directly hear from the bad-faith actors who promote these deceptive and hateful ideologies.”, Sheffield concluded his blogpost.
