Former MSNBC Host Laughs At Sick Joke About GOP Rep’s Severe Combat Wounds

Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan laughed at a joke at a Sept. 26 event in Dearborn, Michigan, about Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida’s injuries caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) in combat.

Hasan and comedian Bassem Youssef appeared on stage at ArabCon 2025, sponsored by the American-Arab Committee Against Discrimination, which included numerous speakers and panels opposing Israel’s operations against the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas following the deadly terrorist attack on several locations in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed more than 1,200 people. Hasan took aim at Mast, a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, during the discussion with Youssef. (RELATED: Conservative commentator banned from CNN after argument with former MSNBC host who called Trump supporters ‘Nazis’)

“Republican Congressman Brian Mast wore an IDF uniform to work after October,” Hasan said, and Youssef responded, “He lost his legs, then his balls and his honor.” »

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The crowd and Hasan laughed at the joke about Mast, a Bronze Star recipient who lost both legs and his left index finger when the IED exploded in 2010. Mast, an evangelical Christian, wore the Israel Defense Forces uniform he received during his 2015 volunteer service in the Israeli army after Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan deployed a Palestinian flag after the attack on October 7, 2023.

“He is one of the most racist members of Congress, and that’s saying something given the strong competition for that title,” Hasan said. “He proposed a bill that would grant Secretary of State Marco Rubio the authority to revoke Americans’ passports if they express certain positions on the Middle East or are seen as supporting terrorism.”

Rep. Mast did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation regarding Hasan’s claim or the joke.

A Daily Caller News Foundation search of Mast-sponsored bills and amendments on Congress.gov revealed that the only legislation mentioning passports was a bill introduced in May 2024, which authorized the Secretary of State to increase the number of passport acceptance agents and reduce wait times. Mast has sponsored bills and amendments to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and to ban funds for the reconstruction of Gaza.

In October 2024, Hasan clashed with conservative podcaster Ryan James Girdusky during a difficult exchange on “CNN NewsNight”, during which Girdusky made a joke referencing an Israeli operation targeting the radical Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah via modified pagers after Hasan called him a “Nazi”, which sparked on-air complaints from Hasan. Girdusky was removed from the panel following Hasan’s complaints and host Abby Phillip later addressed the exchange on air after a commercial break, saying Girdusky had been banned from CNN.

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