CNNIt is NewsNight descended into chaos and acrimony Monday night after Donald Trump surrogate Ryan Girdusky directed an Islamophobic attack on another panel guest Mehdi Hasan.

During a discussion of Trump’s now-infamous rally at Madison Square Garden, during which a number of speakers made openly racist remarks about black people, Palestinians, Latinos, Jews and particularly Porto Rico, the panel got heated and Hasan said that as a supporter of the Palestinians, he was used to being baselessly accused of being an anti-Semite.

Girdusky then responded, “I hope your beeper isn’t going off.” The joke, which strongly implied that Hasan was a terrorist, referred to Israel’s recent series of bombings against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Hasan and the other guests immediately realized Girdusky’s insinuation and challenged him, with Hasan asking Girdusky if he wanted Hasan to die. “Did you just say I should die?” Did you just say I should be killed live on CNN? » » asked Hasan incredulously.

Host Abby Phillip and guest Ashley Allison quickly called out Girdusky for his racist comment and also shut down his attempts to walk back what he said and apologize. “Ryan, that’s completely out of his pocket, you know that,” Phillip said as Girdusky tried to prevaricate. “Don’t say ‘I apologize’, you literally accused him (of being a terrorist)”

As Girdusky continued to try to explain his comment, Phillip said, “Ryan, stop talking.”

When the NewsNight returned after a hiatus, Girdusky had been removed from the panel and Phillip addressed the incident directly on camera. “I would first like to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table, it was totally unacceptable. When we start this discussion, you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table. There’s a line that’s been crossed there and it’s not acceptable to me, it’s not acceptable to us on this network.

Phillip continued: “We want a discussion, we want people who disagree to talk to each other. But when you cross the line into a complete lack of civility, that’s not going to happen here in this series. It’s a hot time, we are in the middle of the political season, we are eight days away from a presidential election. But we can have conversations about what’s happening in this country without resorting to the lowest of the lowest rhetoric.

In a statement after the segment aired, CNN said: “There is no place for racism or intolerance at CNN or on our airwaves. Our goal is to foster thoughtful conversations and debate, including between people who deeply disagree, to explore important issues and promote mutual understanding. But we will not allow guests to be humiliated or the line of civility to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcome in our network.