Ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid clashes with CNN panel as she defends Iran
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By Hanna Panreck
Published June 25, 2025
Ex-MSNBC host Joy Reid clashed with a CNN panel on Tuesday as she defended Iran after President Donald Trump launched a strike against its nuclear facilities over the weekend.
"Iran-backed militias that attacked the United States forces 170 times in Syria, in Jordan and in Iraq. You know who said that? Joe Biden said that. That's why he authorized F-15 strikes against Iran," Brad Todd, a CNN contributor, told Reid.
The ex-MSNBC host said during the exchange on CNN's "Newsnight" that she didn't look to former President Joe Biden as a moral authority because he "has allowed Israel in an unrestrained manner to slaughter Palestinians in Gaza."
"The bottom line here is the way that we know that Iran did not have nuclear weapons is that if they had nuclear weapons, Israel would not attack them. The reason they're trying to get nukes, and probably Saudi Arabia is trying to get them, is because an expansionist power in their region keeps threatening them and actually bombs them," Reid argued.
JOY REID FLOATS SPECULATION THAT HER RACE, 'ANXIETY' SURROUNDING TRUMP PLAYED ROLE IN MSNBC FIRING
"I don't think it's okay that Israel has nukes either. And so the bottom line is, Israel does not even subject its nuclear weapons to the IAEA. And so my question is, should anyone in the region have nukes?" she added.
"Joy, this is not just about nukes. It's also about Iran being a state sponsor of terrorism and chaos and violence and death around the world. So, I mean, there's that too," CNN host Abby Phillip said.
Arthur Aidala also pushed back on Reid and said she was backing a country that slaughters gay people and kills others for their religious beliefs.
"LGBTQ people can't even serve in the military under the president you prefer," Reid responded, as Aidala added, "We're not killing them!"
"They're allowed to live, but they're not allowed to serve in the United States military. They're being persecuted. They can't have their stories told in school. The United States is not exactly a beacon of rights for gay people," Reid argued as Aidala called her out for comparing gay rights in the U.S. to Iran.
LAWMAKERS, MEDIA DINGED FOR BLAMING TRUMP OR RIPPING ISRAEL ON IRAN: 'YOU THINK KAMALA COULD'VE STOPPED THEM?'
"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg last week suggested during an episode of the ABC News talk show that the U.S. in 2025 was the same as Iran, specifically for Black people.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin pushed back on Goldberg, noting that living in America today was "very different" than living in Iran.
"Not if you're Black," Goldberg insisted as co-host Sunny Hostin added, "not for everybody."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Reid's MSNBC show was canceled earlier this year and the far-left personality speculated on Tuesday that her coverage of Gaza and repeated criticism of Trump is what led to her firing.
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