It’s even a little bit worse than that. Here’s a quick Youtube video with, I think, just enough context.
It’s quick and glib and is structured like a bit of political wit, but he’s pretty earnestly comparing Hasan to Hamas/Hezbollah and the “joke” is more about his comic persona (to the extent you develop one in the three seconds of buildup to being Mr. Funny on a news panel show) hoping that he and the entire table don’t get blown up by Hasan’s beeper during the show. I didn’t get any subtext or subtle implication that Hasan should be spared, except for duration of the oh-so-funny Gidursky being in the blast radius.
It’s the sort of thing that somebody might feel safe saying on CNN if, in other environments, they’d be perfectly happy wishing death on people who oppose the war. A cheap shot from a racist asshole.
Yup, there’s also this idea that certain people like to posit that Nazis never laugh or attempt to make jokes. It’s not that you aren’t joking, it’s what your joke says about you.
I can understand that in a particular moment you’re not calling for the literal death of your political opponents, yet still believe you’d be pretty okay with the literal death of your political opponents, and your “joke” may well help me be more confident in my conclusion.