'You cannot just invent a connection': CNN host halts discussion to smack down Republican

A discussion that veered into an argument over the effects of George Floyd’s death forced CNN anchor Abby Phillip to halt the panel to correct her Republican guest.

The moment came Tuesday night on Phillip’s show "NewsNight" when 1776 Project PAC founder Ryan Girdusky suggested that riots around the country after the death of George Floyd in 2020 “resulted in excess of over 15,000 black male deaths in this country.”

“How?” CNN contributor and former Democratic South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers quickly fired back.

Girdusky attributed his claim to “a surge of violent crime,” which he described as “the Ferguson effect.” The two guests then began an animated back and forth before Girdusky made another attempt to clarify himself.

“After the Floyd riot, policemen – in fear of their jobs many times and political coverage – pulled back from their jobs, resulting in an increased level of homicides…”

That’s when Phillips stepped in.

“Hold on Ryan, listen, I got to stop you there…hold on,” Phillips said as she broke up the discussion. “We’ve got to stop you there because you're literally making a connection out of your own conjecture…you cannot do that.”

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“No, it's a real thing,” Girdusky said. “Look it up, look up the Ferguson effect, look up the Floyd effect. It is a real term. I didn’t make it up.”

But Phillips wasn’t satisfied.

“You cannot just invent a connection between two things, just because you want that connection to be there.”

While Girdusky continued to insist the so-called "Ferguson effect" is “a real thing,” CNN political commentator and Democrat Ashley Allison jumped in and said, “It doesn’t mean it’s right. It can be a real thing, it doesn’t mean it’s accurate.”

At that point, Phillips attempted to move the conversation along but had to again calm things down.

“Hold on, hold on, hold on,” the anchor said. “I just want everyone to settle down because people cannot hear at home if everybody's talking at once.”

Watch the tense clip below or at this link.