All posts tagged "mehdi hasan"

'Have they lost their minds?' Standing ovation for 'ugly' Rubio speech shocks analyst

Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered an unsettling speech to European leaders at the Munich security conference Monday, receiving a standing ovation that left an analyst stunned.

In an opinion piece for The Guardian published Tuesday, Mehdi Hasan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zeteo, described the "disturbing" 3,000-word address from the Trump administration's top diplomat. Hasan questioned Rubio's "love letter to conquest and colonialism" and called out his "gaslighting" as the son of Cuban immigrants who once called President Donald Trump a "con artist" and "lunatic." He's now telling European leaders they should support America's president.

"Did they not realize that they may have been clapping for their own demise? That despite Rubio’s gentler tone and polished language, despite all his talk of transatlantic comity and unity, he was advocating for a geopolitics of vicious authoritarianism. That Rubio may be good cop to Trump’s bad, but their goal is one and the same: to make empire great again," Hasan wrote.

Hasan pointed out that it wasn't just what Rubio said — it's what he didn't say.

Rubio did not mention Russia or China once in his comments, and despite the concerns of European leaders, he also never spoke of Greenland. And after reports that Trump is still considering acquiring Greenland, Rubio reiterated that Trump hasn't let go of the idea of using military force to take the Denmark territory.

"Astonishingly, Trump has refused to rule out the use of military force against Denmark, a Nato ally," Hasan wrote. "He has dismissed concerns about international borders and national sovereignty. And, this weekend, he sent his secretary of state to a conference in Europe that was supposed to be about collective security to deliver a speech that amounted to: America must dominate. Trump must lead. And Europe must get onboard – or else."

Instead of praising Rubio, European governments should be wary, Hasan argued.

"Again, I cannot emphasize this enough: European officials actually stood up in Munich and applauded a US official praising empire, while serving a US administration whose stated foreign policy goals include the imperial seizure of European territory," Hasan wrote.

"Have they lost their minds? The Europeans in that audience may have told themselves that they were applauding a return to stability and even friendship with the United States," Hasan added. "In reality, they were offering a standing ovation for the return of something much uglier, bloodier, and more dangerous. Empire. And this time, it may not stop at Europe’s own borders."

'You joking?’ Ex-MSNBC host gobsmacked as former aide blames Trump scandal on 'bad staff'

Former MSNBC Mehdi Hasan was taken aback when a former White House official blamed Trump's staff for giving the president bad information.

Hasan, who founded independent news site Zeteo, asked former Trump chief-of-staff Mick Mulvaney "to explain Trump's insane defense of the doctored image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckles" as justification for deportation.

"He was the man sent illegally to El Salvador by the Trump administration," Hasan said of Abrego Garcia. "They tried to justify his deportation by saying he was an MS-13 gang leader. Trump put out a picture, he held up a picture of his knuckles, showing 'MS-13' photoshopped onto his hand."

Hasan continued, "Terry Moran of ABC News then did an interview with Donald Trump -- remarkable moment -- one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen in my life as a TV journalist. Trump held up this picture."

"And the picture's doctored," Mulvaney said.

"The picture's doctored, right?" Hasan repeated. "Trump insisted this was real! He insisted seven times it was real. You were his chief of staff. How do you deal with that insanity?"

"I don't consider it to be insanity," Mulvaney answered. "Here's what I consider it to be -- bad staff work."

Mehdi reacted with stunned surprise.

"Absolutely," Mulvaney continued. "Someone brought that picture into the President of the United States and said, 'Mr. President, here's the information.'"

"Are you joking me?" Hasan responded.

Mulvaney said the chief of staff's job is to make sure that the president gets the correct information, "because there's a lot of crap information out there, and you cannot let that information get in to the president of the United States."

Hasan wasn't buying it.

"A sane human being would look at that and say, 'Don't be silly, that's not a real picture!' A 4-year-old child could tell you that that is a Photoshopped image."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

"Trump insisted 7 times that this was not photoshopped..I think he actually believes this which makes me worry about his mental health."

I asked Trump's ex-WH Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to explain Trump's insane defense of the doctored image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia's knuckles. pic.twitter.com/mqEmm6nySj
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 1, 2025

Ex-MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan faces off against conservative Piers Morgan over Fox News bias

Conservative pundit Piers Morgan, who recently told Bill Maher that he doesn't "respect" Donald Trump's recent reversal on abortion, faced off Saturday against his ex-MSNBC counterpart, Mehdi Hasan.

Hasan, who left MSNBC for The Guardian after his show on the network was cancelled, started off by suggesting the "News" be left off of Fox.

"When I was at MSNBC, I refused to refer to it as Fox News, only as Fox," he said. "It doesn't deserve the 'News' label. Let's not kid ourselves or help normalize a far-right propaganda outlet."

ALSO READ: Revealed: What government officials privately shared about Trump not disclosing finances

Morgan shot back, saying, "Mehdi, the idea that Fox is any more/less partisan than MSNBC is laughable."

But Hasan was not done. He struck back, saying, "I get that you work for Murdoch, Piers, so you have to say this, but we all saw the evidence in the Dominion case & we all saw Murdoch desperately settle."

"There's been nothing like Dominion for any other media network in the Western world, liberal or conservative," he added. "So nice try."

Just last year, Morgan said the following of Rupert Murdoch:

"Rupert Murdoch has been a bold, brilliant, visionary leader whose audacity & tenacity built a magnificently successful global media empire. It’s been a privilege to work for him on and off for the past 30 years, and an ongoing masterclass in journalism & business. Thanks Boss!"

'Immoral and illegal': Congressman called out for Gaza statement

Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D) on Saturday was called out by an MSNBC host and others for his take on the unfortunate events in Israel.

In response to a post suggesting Israel might harm civilians in Gaza, Moskowitz seemed to be OK with that result.

"This is Hamas fault and only Hamas. Israel gives a warning to save lives," Moskowitz wrote on Saturday of the purported Israeli warning to "leave." "The women and children that were murdered in Israel got no warning."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?

Independent journalist George Chidi chimed in on the suggestion by Moskowitz.

"Where the f-ck are they going to go? Serious question. Gaza is an open-air prison. Travel out of Gaza is broadly prohibited both by Israel and by Egypt,' Chidi wrote on Saturday. "I know this because I was an international peacekeeper in Sinai and saw it first hand. The 2 million people there are trapped."

Moskowitz replied, "That’s something Hamas should’ve thought of."

Chidi once again hit back.

"I'm sure Hamas did. And I'm sure Hamas will use the propaganda value of the predictable pile of dead Palestinian civilians to recruit more terrorists," he said. "It is immoral and illegal for any military attack on civilians. It doesn't matter what Hamas or anyone else did first."

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan noticed the lawmaker's response, too.

"A U.S. Congressman suggesting 2 million people in Gaza should be collectively punished for the actions of Hamas," he wrote Saturday.