Political commentator and journalist Mehdi Hasan’s baffled reaction to a far-right influencer proudly admitting he is a fascist has left the internet in shock, and the YouTube channel that hosted the debate between the two is facing pushback for platforming fascism.
In a Sunday episode of Jubilee’s “Surrounded” titled “1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives,” the former MSNBC host was shocked to find out his opponents included those he described as “actual outright open fascists.”
Journalist Mehdi Hasan said he was disappointed after a debate with far-right conservatives he called “openly fascist” aired on Jubilee. Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
“I am disappointed that I had to sit across from people who believe in white genocide, who believe I’m not a citizen,” Hasan said, reflecting on the debate at the end of the episode. “Multiple people here said I should be deported. One of them was even the child of immigrants, which I found bizarre.”
One person in particular left Hasan’s jaw on the floor.
The topic that Hasan had put up for debate was whether “Donald Trump is defying the Constitution.” That conversation begins at 21:40.
“I don’t really care, to be quite frankly,” said one guest, who went by the name of Connor.
“Quite frankly, there are a lot of legal processes that are enabling criminals and bad people to fully enact their will in this country in the name of the Constitution,” Connor continued. “So quite frankly, if Trump is anti-Constitution, good, and I think he should go further.”
“This is wonderfully revealing of the modern conservative mindset,” Hasan said.
Connor went on to quote Nazi theorist Carl Schmitt, and when Hasan asked how Connor felt about the Nazis, he replied, “Well, they persecuted the church a little bit. I’m not a fan of that.”
When asked specifically about Jews, Connor said, “I certainly don’t support anyone’s human dignity being assaulted.”
At that point, Hasan interjected that Connor was “a little bit more than a far-right Republican.“
“Hey, what can I say?” Connor said.
“I think you can say, ‘I’m a fascist,’” Hasan replied.
“Yeah, I am,” Connor said, laughing.
Hasan looked concerned and baffled as the group cheered and clapped for Connor.
Hasan eventually ended the exchange, stating, “I don’t debate fascists.”
The self-identified fascist later claimed he lost his job because of his comments on the show, and ranted about cancel culture while in an appearance on RiftTV.
He also set up a fundraiser for himself, which was reviewed by HuffPost and had reached over $25,000 at the time of writing.
“Unfortunately, voicing fully legal traditional right wing political views results in real consequences,” Connor wrote on a page for the fundraiser, which did not say what his job had been. “This is cancel culture and political discrimination on full display.”
Many online have condemned Jubilee for platforming him and other far-right conservatives in the first place.
Another person on the episode told Hasan to “get the hell out” and “I don’t want you here” after the journalist said he was an immigrant, in an intense interaction that starts at 53:46.
In his reflection at the episode’s end, Hasan called it “kind of disturbing to see that they think what I thought they think and they were happy to say it out loud.” He told followers on X, formerly Twitter, that this was “not how the debate was sold” to him by producers.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
