CNN apologized and said it had banned a conservative commentator from its network after he made on-air remarks about Mehdi Hasan that the channel described as racist.

During a discussion Monday evening about the rhetoric used at Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s weekend rally at Madison Square Garden, Trump supporter and panelist Ryan Girdusky told Muslim journalist Mehdi Hasan: “Eh Well, I hope your beep doesn’t go off.”

The comments, which have been viewed tens of millions of times online, apparently referred to Israeli attacks targeting the radios and pagers of the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hasan had earlier said he was pro-Palestinian.

Rights advocates have noted an increase in threats and hate speech against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the outbreak of Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon following the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian fighters of Hamas.

CNN anchor Abby Philip apologized to Hasan after the incident. “There is no place for racism or intolerance at CNN or on our airwaves,” CNN said in a separate statement. “Ryan Girdusky will not be welcome in our network,” he said.

Girdusky apologized for his on-air comments, but also defended himself on social media, saying it was a joke.

“You can stay on CNN if you falsely call all Republicans Nazis and have received money from Qatar-funded media,” Girdusky said. “Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke.”