Mehdi Hasan Joins the Guardian Following MSNBC Cancellation, Calls on Biden To ‘End the Bombing of Gaza’

Mehdi Hasan announced his new position as a columnist for The Guardian on Wednesday following his departure from MSNBC last month.

Hasan – who left MSNBC in January after the network made the controversial decision to cancel The Mehdi Hasan Show – penned his first article as a regular columnist for The Guardian U.S. on Wednesday, calling on President Joe Biden to stop the Israeli bombing of Gaza.

“I have been poring over columns in the Guardian since I was a teenager. Now I get to write some of my own in what is perhaps one of the busiest and biggest news years of my lifetime,” said Hasan in a statement to Semafor. “It’s a huge honor and a privilege.”

In her own statement, The Guardian’s U.S. editor, Betsy Reed, said she was “proud to provide a platform for his incisive political commentary, relentless advocacy for human rights and free speech, and fearless accountability for those in power.”

Reed added, “Mehdi is the latest addition to a stellar, expanding roster of opinion writers here at Guardian US, and I look forward to his contributions in the months ahead.”

Hasan left MSNBC in a surprise announcement last month, informing viewers at the end of his show, “Tonight is not just my final episode of the Mehdi Hasan Show, it’s my last day with MSNBC. Yes, I’ve decided to leave.”

MSNBC raised eyebrows in November after it announced the cancellation of The Mehdi Hasan Show less than two months after Israel began its bombing campaign in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The network was accused of sidelining Muslim voices as a result of the conflict – accusations MSNBC denied, despite the fact that several Muslim anchors were pulled from the air.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) called MSNBC’s decision “bad optics” and criticized the network’s decision to cancel the show “at a time when he [Hasan] is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing.”

Khanna added, “As a strong supporter of free speech, MSNBC owes the public an explanation for this decision. Why would they choose to do this now?”

On his show, Hasan repeatedly pushed back against Israeli officials, including Mark Regev, and interrogated them about government disinformation and the number of civilian deaths caused by Israel’s bombing campaign.