For the viral YouTube 'Surrounded' series, Zeteo's editor-in-chief goes up against 20 'far-right conservatives' - extremists? fascists? - on Trump, immigration, Gaza, and the US Constitution.
“Conner” offers a chilling portrait of a contemporary religious Nazi, and the enthusiastic applause from the audience in support of Conner was equally revealing. Equally striking was how swiftly the red flags appeared whenever Mehdi delivered another factual blow against Trump—demonstrating a conditioned MAGA reflex. Mehdi’s debate skills and command of facts were impressive, deftly tracking the stream of absurdity and skillfully extracting salient points to underscore the moral contradictions at the core of these young conservatives.
As a lifelong Catholic, educated by religious sisters and brothers for 12 years, I find this association with nativism/white nationalism alarming. This cult-like subgroup of U.S."Catholics" is another form of elitism, and certainly not in alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It's small wonder that JDV has been called out by Popes Francis and Leo.
I debated competitively when I was in high school, in fact, won the national high school team championship, hosted by the National Forensic League. Mehdi is one of the best debaters I have ever seen. He stays on topic, he defines terms, he engages in what debaters call “direct clash,“ i.e., directly responding to an argument, not running off on tangents — though I appreciated how he would let the tangents run from time to time, and take pains to show how they were off topic. He is respectful, even when registering his disrespect. All in all, a class act. I am proud to share my citizenship with him. He exemplifies what it means to be a citizen.
This is painful because they are too young to be spouting this crap...no logical thought, no historical perspective, just emotional speech which may work on those who agree with them but not with adults...
This.... Does not sit right with me. Jubilee have been known for its brand and type of content that they liberally call 'debates'. It is a channel that peddles drama and the aesthetics of debate without any actual communication. It's just a click bait content farm. It's owners have admitted as such. Mehdi SHOULD NOT have done this. We do not need to cater to audiences of this kind. If this is what people think is debate, then they have far deeper problems that even a discussion isn't going to solve.
I also share this concern, but -and I hope I’m not being naive here- I think for many conservatives, a lot of what was said by their peers here is disturbing. They are already platformed. I’d rather see them platformed somewhere where there’s someone like Mehdi who can put their ugliness under a lens
I guess I agree to a certain extent but if nothing else, it's so important for people who disagree with the revolting beliefs being shared to SEE them. To see what we are fighting against, how deep the rot has gotten - that is needed.
WOW. This is the most insane Jubilee debate I've ever seen. Mehdi Hasan is the GOAT of debates, and these folks are just far-right fascists, who admit that, and are just severe hateful lunatics. These people exist folks, in decent numbers. Do you want THEM making laws that affect you? No? Then GET ACTIVE!
This is why Medhi is my favorite journalist on the planet. This was a brilliant display of him rebuking and debunking bullshit arguments. Instead of debate these people turned to insults. And that was lame. A total mismatch.
As a subscriber, I believe that Mehdi did an incredible job of allowing the right wing extremists to make fools over themselves and demonstrate the folly of their own beliefs. It should be required viewing nationally.
I was unsurprised at the shallowness of the responses, the unpreparedness, the lack of understanding of history. But I was surprised at the pain I felt, both for Mehdi and for myself, as these rather bumptious young people enjoyed simply being cruel. I didn’t expect that…
Look, all these people Mehdi is debating say they are Christians. Well I don't know what they learned about Christianity in the States, I refer to the far right, but it's not like any Christianity I know. They are not Christians, it has been perverted in the States. Nothing they think, do or say is anything that can be associated with the teachings of Jesus. I have never heard so much utter crap in my life. I feel sorry for these young people - their parents have done them a great disservice. They do not appear to respect anybody unless they are as brainwashed as they are.
I don't know how much true American history you may know, but the truth about our Civil War is one of the things most carefully hidden. I hope it does not seem that I'm being condescending...I don't mean to be. Despite some 60 years (so far) in the Deep South, I only learned of the Cornerstone of the Confederacy in the past decade or so.
After the Civil War, the "Party of Lincoln" (Repugs) fell out of favor in the south, and not in a small way. There was literally not a single elected repug in the south for federal office in almost 100 years. (Obviously, that did little or nothing to stop countless acts of brutality against Black folks during the Jim Crow era.)
Then about 1960 a guy named Lee Atwater (and some others) came up with something called The Southern Strategy. It was an evil plan to use Christianity to drive a wedge of hate between Black and racist white southerners, and it worked like nobody's business. In fact it worked so well, they now claim credit! (Obviously, it's been horribly effective, and as the PREDECESSOR to Project 2025, it's a nightmare of hate and evil...and control.)
You may remember Mr. Atwater vaguely for saying this:
"You start out in 1954 by saying, “Ni**er, ni**er, ni**er.” By 1968 you can’t say “ni**er”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Ni**er, ni**er.” "
Atwater confessed all his sins eventually...as he lay dying in a hospital bed of brain cancer. We can only hope he was judged appropriately, regardless.
Knowledge always usually(sic) triumphs, though it can be a circuitous and difficult path, and perhaps too often the very definition of "quixotic".
Nice to meet you, Rosalind, and I hope we can perhaps SAVE a few windmills on this quest to save democracy! (I'm probably a better Sancho Panza, though that image brings me little joy...)
"yet to most in that circle of conservatives, it seemed that facts don’t matter, immigrants are evil, and, oh, and when in doubt, quote a Nazi theoretician like Carl Schmitt!"
I think Mehdi may have gone in good faith, expecting to have a debate about his claims with facts and try to convince some ambivalent viewers of the validity of his claims. He did not expect people not to engage with most of the substance of his arguments.
Mehdi, and (everyone at Zeteo) is an American (and GLOBAL) hero. All of you are fighting for democracy for ALL Americans, even those many who hate him, you and us.
If this is one of the ways Mehdi chooses, then the ONLY thing we can fairly say in return is, "Thank you, Mehdi, and we hope you had FUN! And considering what ALL of you at Zeteo have been through (thus far), you deserve every second of satisfaction."
And one thing I believe we can all agree on, it is kinda fun to humiliate fascists. (Even when they don't know it!)
I’m sure that Mehdi was engaging in good faith. He also, by his own admission, loves an argument. And, to be clear, there is some value to the facts that he was delivering. (Ditto when Sam Seder went underwent the same…um…treatment.)
It’s just…this sort of thing doesn’t really feel very useful anymore.
This may have been good for theatrical purposes and get people to enjoy but it does not serve any educational purpose. However if these people were really serious and not just having fun, it is disappointing to witness the lack of deeper understanding of the world we live in. Some seemed ignorant of facts or lack of knowledge.
Mehdi is a serious and professional journalist. He should not engage in such theatrics.
Honestly I felt like most of those kids were pretty demoralized by about the half way mark. They feel pretty smug in their talking points as long as they are in their bubble, but they collapse so easily when confronted with facts and logical arguments. Or they devolved to muttered threats like "you'll be the first to go." Oof
This isn't a battle for good and evil. It's a battle for attention. And on that term, the house always wins. Youtube and Jubilee. They get the attention and monetize it by selling us ads.
Oh Mehdi, this was deeply disturbing, and sadly not surprising. It's unfortunately what I heard would be revealed by attempting to rain with a room full of far right conservatives (the Christian part sure didn't help). I'm guessing that by the end you, like me, were sad. Connor and his buddies really need to expand their social circles (not likely given the algorithms) or we're cooked.
This was gripping! Mehdi is not only brilliant, but brave. And he conducted himself with politeness and poise in discussions with those whom I would dismiss as a waste of time. But he listened to what they thought, then demolished them with the facts and a sharp scalpel.
I watched. Surprisingly didn’t stress me out. These people don’t know why they believe what they believe. I think that’s right about a lot of people and it’s clearly based on fear and racism. It was revealed the longer they spoke.
“Conner” offers a chilling portrait of a contemporary religious Nazi, and the enthusiastic applause from the audience in support of Conner was equally revealing. Equally striking was how swiftly the red flags appeared whenever Mehdi delivered another factual blow against Trump—demonstrating a conditioned MAGA reflex. Mehdi’s debate skills and command of facts were impressive, deftly tracking the stream of absurdity and skillfully extracting salient points to underscore the moral contradictions at the core of these young conservatives.
As a lifelong Catholic, educated by religious sisters and brothers for 12 years, I find this association with nativism/white nationalism alarming. This cult-like subgroup of U.S."Catholics" is another form of elitism, and certainly not in alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It's small wonder that JDV has been called out by Popes Francis and Leo.
I debated competitively when I was in high school, in fact, won the national high school team championship, hosted by the National Forensic League. Mehdi is one of the best debaters I have ever seen. He stays on topic, he defines terms, he engages in what debaters call “direct clash,“ i.e., directly responding to an argument, not running off on tangents — though I appreciated how he would let the tangents run from time to time, and take pains to show how they were off topic. He is respectful, even when registering his disrespect. All in all, a class act. I am proud to share my citizenship with him. He exemplifies what it means to be a citizen.
Thank you!
I saw you do something at Oxford Union on Islam as good as Buckley and Baldwin on race
Medhi is such a talent! ( and hard worker - I recognize it’s not JUST talent)
I would have loved for Hassan to challenge a;; 20 of them them to a civics test.
This is painful because they are too young to be spouting this crap...no logical thought, no historical perspective, just emotional speech which may work on those who agree with them but not with adults...
They are saying this crap because they are young, and they in an algorithmic bubble.
The level of ignorance they showed is astounding.
This.... Does not sit right with me. Jubilee have been known for its brand and type of content that they liberally call 'debates'. It is a channel that peddles drama and the aesthetics of debate without any actual communication. It's just a click bait content farm. It's owners have admitted as such. Mehdi SHOULD NOT have done this. We do not need to cater to audiences of this kind. If this is what people think is debate, then they have far deeper problems that even a discussion isn't going to solve.
I also share this concern, but -and I hope I’m not being naive here- I think for many conservatives, a lot of what was said by their peers here is disturbing. They are already platformed. I’d rather see them platformed somewhere where there’s someone like Mehdi who can put their ugliness under a lens
Why? Your debates in the USA are not debates. They are question and answer sessions with an adjudicator. Nothing but Circus for the DIM
I guess I agree to a certain extent but if nothing else, it's so important for people who disagree with the revolting beliefs being shared to SEE them. To see what we are fighting against, how deep the rot has gotten - that is needed.
WOW. This is the most insane Jubilee debate I've ever seen. Mehdi Hasan is the GOAT of debates, and these folks are just far-right fascists, who admit that, and are just severe hateful lunatics. These people exist folks, in decent numbers. Do you want THEM making laws that affect you? No? Then GET ACTIVE!
Spot On!
This is why Medhi is my favorite journalist on the planet. This was a brilliant display of him rebuking and debunking bullshit arguments. Instead of debate these people turned to insults. And that was lame. A total mismatch.
As a subscriber, I believe that Mehdi did an incredible job of allowing the right wing extremists to make fools over themselves and demonstrate the folly of their own beliefs. It should be required viewing nationally.
Thank you
That was fun- until it wasn’t.
I was unsurprised at the shallowness of the responses, the unpreparedness, the lack of understanding of history. But I was surprised at the pain I felt, both for Mehdi and for myself, as these rather bumptious young people enjoyed simply being cruel. I didn’t expect that…
Hubris and cruelty are par for the course of these neo-Nazi fascists.
I am not surprised in the least!
Look, all these people Mehdi is debating say they are Christians. Well I don't know what they learned about Christianity in the States, I refer to the far right, but it's not like any Christianity I know. They are not Christians, it has been perverted in the States. Nothing they think, do or say is anything that can be associated with the teachings of Jesus. I have never heard so much utter crap in my life. I feel sorry for these young people - their parents have done them a great disservice. They do not appear to respect anybody unless they are as brainwashed as they are.
Rosalind,
I don't know how much true American history you may know, but the truth about our Civil War is one of the things most carefully hidden. I hope it does not seem that I'm being condescending...I don't mean to be. Despite some 60 years (so far) in the Deep South, I only learned of the Cornerstone of the Confederacy in the past decade or so.
After the Civil War, the "Party of Lincoln" (Repugs) fell out of favor in the south, and not in a small way. There was literally not a single elected repug in the south for federal office in almost 100 years. (Obviously, that did little or nothing to stop countless acts of brutality against Black folks during the Jim Crow era.)
Then about 1960 a guy named Lee Atwater (and some others) came up with something called The Southern Strategy. It was an evil plan to use Christianity to drive a wedge of hate between Black and racist white southerners, and it worked like nobody's business. In fact it worked so well, they now claim credit! (Obviously, it's been horribly effective, and as the PREDECESSOR to Project 2025, it's a nightmare of hate and evil...and control.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy
You may remember Mr. Atwater vaguely for saying this:
"You start out in 1954 by saying, “Ni**er, ni**er, ni**er.” By 1968 you can’t say “ni**er”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Ni**er, ni**er.” "
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/exclusive-lee-atwaters-infamous-1981-interview-southern-strategy/
Atwater confessed all his sins eventually...as he lay dying in a hospital bed of brain cancer. We can only hope he was judged appropriately, regardless.
Well thank you, I found that very interesting and I do remember Atwater.
Knowledge always usually(sic) triumphs, though it can be a circuitous and difficult path, and perhaps too often the very definition of "quixotic".
Nice to meet you, Rosalind, and I hope we can perhaps SAVE a few windmills on this quest to save democracy! (I'm probably a better Sancho Panza, though that image brings me little joy...)
"yet to most in that circle of conservatives, it seemed that facts don’t matter, immigrants are evil, and, oh, and when in doubt, quote a Nazi theoretician like Carl Schmitt!"
So...what was accomplished, then?
I think Mehdi may have gone in good faith, expecting to have a debate about his claims with facts and try to convince some ambivalent viewers of the validity of his claims. He did not expect people not to engage with most of the substance of his arguments.
Some cultist somewhere saw (or will see) this video, and some questions may be raised in their mind, heart or soul.
It's a slow process, but perhaps it's all any of us can do right now with any degree of success.
Mehdi, and (everyone at Zeteo) is an American (and GLOBAL) hero. All of you are fighting for democracy for ALL Americans, even those many who hate him, you and us.
If this is one of the ways Mehdi chooses, then the ONLY thing we can fairly say in return is, "Thank you, Mehdi, and we hope you had FUN! And considering what ALL of you at Zeteo have been through (thus far), you deserve every second of satisfaction."
And one thing I believe we can all agree on, it is kinda fun to humiliate fascists. (Even when they don't know it!)
Too many people. 4 would have been a good number but Bravo for being brave.
I’m sure that Mehdi was engaging in good faith. He also, by his own admission, loves an argument. And, to be clear, there is some value to the facts that he was delivering. (Ditto when Sam Seder went underwent the same…um…treatment.)
It’s just…this sort of thing doesn’t really feel very useful anymore.
I’ll probably still watch it, though.
This may have been good for theatrical purposes and get people to enjoy but it does not serve any educational purpose. However if these people were really serious and not just having fun, it is disappointing to witness the lack of deeper understanding of the world we live in. Some seemed ignorant of facts or lack of knowledge.
Mehdi is a serious and professional journalist. He should not engage in such theatrics.
Honestly I felt like most of those kids were pretty demoralized by about the half way mark. They feel pretty smug in their talking points as long as they are in their bubble, but they collapse so easily when confronted with facts and logical arguments. Or they devolved to muttered threats like "you'll be the first to go." Oof
How naive some of these kids are... they don't understand the Constitution at all.
I hope someone can fill me in, since I didn't last 10 minutes. (This violates my new medical instructions to lower my BP.)
The GOOD GUY won, right? (I was already sensing a STRONG trend.)
This isn't a battle for good and evil. It's a battle for attention. And on that term, the house always wins. Youtube and Jubilee. They get the attention and monetize it by selling us ads.
You're right...
It's a battle for good OR evil. Evil will surely be able to find a home of its own.
Oh Mehdi, this was deeply disturbing, and sadly not surprising. It's unfortunately what I heard would be revealed by attempting to rain with a room full of far right conservatives (the Christian part sure didn't help). I'm guessing that by the end you, like me, were sad. Connor and his buddies really need to expand their social circles (not likely given the algorithms) or we're cooked.
“I think the people that clapped for you just voted you out “ 💀😂
This was gripping! Mehdi is not only brilliant, but brave. And he conducted himself with politeness and poise in discussions with those whom I would dismiss as a waste of time. But he listened to what they thought, then demolished them with the facts and a sharp scalpel.
But demolished them in whose eyes? I doubt they felt demolished at all.
I watched. Surprisingly didn’t stress me out. These people don’t know why they believe what they believe. I think that’s right about a lot of people and it’s clearly based on fear and racism. It was revealed the longer they spoke.