Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan found himself at the center of controversy yet again after posting—and quickly deleting—an inflammatory remark on X following a fatal plane crash in Georgia. Hasan, who has built a reputation for his confrontational style and left-wing commentary, sparked outrage with a tweet that read “Make American Planes Crash Again,” an apparent jab at the Trump administration and its FAA policies.
The backlash was swift. Critics accused Hasan of mocking the deaths of the two victims who perished in the crash at Covington Airport. Facing mounting criticism, Hasan deleted the post and attempted to justify his remarks, claiming he was being taken “out of context.”
“I deleted this sarcastic quote-tweet because MAGA and Islamophobic folks are clipping it out of context and trying to ridiculously suggest I’m inciting violence,” Hasan wrote.
He insisted his intent was to mock the “Make America Great Again” slogan while drawing attention to recent aviation accidents under Trump’s leadership.
But the damage was already done. New York Post reporter Jon Levine took the controversy a step further, cc’ing the FBI in a post resurfacing Hasan’s past incendiary remarks, including a now-infamous clip from his Al Jazeera days where he compared non-Muslims to “animals” and equated homosexuality to “pedophilia” and “sexual deviancy.” Hasan previously apologized for those statements in 2019, claiming they were made over a decade earlier and that he “deeply regretted” them.
This latest scandal is just the latest in a series of controversies that have followed Hasan throughout his career. His radical pro-Palestinian views and sharp criticism of Israel contributed to his exit from MSNBC in 2024, after his show was canceled amid backlash over his comments following Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel. At the time, Hasan suggested that Hamas’ assault was the result of “failed policies” by Israel and the United States, drawing sharp criticism for what many saw as an attempt to justify terrorism.
His confrontational approach continued in November 2023, when he held an aggressive interview with Israeli adviser Mark Regev, accusing Israel of killing children and spreading propaganda.
Hasan has also defended Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) past comparisons of the U.S. and Israel to terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Taliban, arguing that “Americans get very upset when our nation is accused of war crimes, but… we have to be able to talk about them.”
Following his departure from MSNBC, Hasan launched his own Substack, Zeteo, where he continues to push his progressive views, often with the same provocative style that has made him a polarizing figure in media.
