The founder of the 1776 Project PAC, a conservative organization funding more than a dozen school board candidates across Maryland, has been banned from CNN after making a crass on-the-air joke linking a Muslim commentator to Hezbollah, the Iran-funded group that the U.S. government considers a terrorist organization.
Ryan James Girdusky, who founded the political action committee in 2021, was removed and permanently banned from the network after a heated exchange with MSNBC commentator Mehdi Hasan, who was also a guest Monday on CNN’s NewsNight with Abby Phillip program.
During a discussion regarding Hasan’s support for the Palestinian people, Girdusky told Hasan: “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.” That was a reference to Israel’s pager attack on Hezbollah in September, which left over 3,000 injured and 37 dead – including many civilian bystanders and some children.
Hasan reacted swiftly, asking Phillip: “Did your guest just say I should be killed on live TV?”
CNN then removed Girdusky during a commercial break. Afterwards, host Abby Phillip said: “There was a line that was crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me. It’s not acceptable to us at this network,”
In a statement, CNN said “there is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air,” adding that “Ryan Girdusky will not be allowed back at our network.”
Hasan has not released his own statement, but retweeted Phillip’s post about the incident on X. Later that night, Girdusky wrote on his own X account, “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”
During an appearance on the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show podcast after the incident, Girdusky referred to Hasan as a “drama queen” for his reaction to Girdusky’s comment.
Neither a representative for Girdusky nor the 1776 Project PAC immediately responded to a request for comment regarding the incident.
This election cycle, the 1776 Project PAC has endorsed 19 Maryland school board candidates in nine of the state’s 24 school districts. Some of its endorsements have gone beyond simple handshaking; the political action committee has pumped money toward the campaigns of 13 candidates across Cecil, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Calvert, Somerset and St. Mary’s counties.
Girdusky founded the 1776 Project PAC when his godson’s teacher read his class two books about police brutality and white privilege, according to the organization’s website, writing that he created the committee “to change public education by reforming school boards and electing reform-minded conservatives who wanted to improve public education in this country.”
The Local News Network at the University of Maryland previously reported that the 1776 Project PAC spent $75,409.58 on school board races throughout Maryland. As of October 16, that total now stands at $90,580.50 after more than $15,000 in new contributions this month to the same 13 candidates.
The Maryland Democratic Party recently announced efforts to push back against “extreme” conservative school board candidates, specifically citing some of those endorsed by the 1776 Project PAC.
“Make no mistake, every candidate backed by the 1776 Project PAC or is receiving cash from Ryan Girdusky because they are aligned with his harmful, exclusionary worldview and hope to bring it to Maryland’s school boards,” said Maryland Democratic Party spokesperson Luca Amayo.
The 1776 Project PAC was far from Girdusky’s first foray into political activism.
During his 15 years in the conservative political sphere, Girdusky has written for publications like American Conservative magazine and Red Alert Politics. Richard Spencer, who led the Charlottesville march in 2017, confirmed on X that Girdusky also wrote for Spencer’s now-defunct website Alternative Right.
The New York City native may be most notable for his work alongside JD Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio who is now the GOP nominee for vice president.
While Vance ran for Senate in 2022, Girdusky worked for Protect Ohio Values, a conservative political action committee that helped propel Vance toward Capitol Hill. Beyond his employment, Girdusky bragged about his relationship with the senator during an appearance on the Newsmax network.
“In 2020, he reached out to me over Twitter, and we built a friendship,” Girdusky said on the show. “I called him and said, if you’re running, I want to be on the team.”