Jeffrey Lord, a prominent political analyst on CNN for the past two years, known for his passionate defense of Donald J. Trump, during the campaign and now as president, was fired on Thursday, August 10 after he used the phrase "Sieg Heil!" in a tweet.

On Thursday morning, Lord was engaged in a strident Twitter exchange with Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, the far-left group that targets conservative media programs, hosts, and analysts.  Lord had written several articles in American Spectator (published August 9 and August 10) critical of Media Matters, dubbing them Media Matters Fascists (MMF) for their latest attempt to suppress a conservative program, Sean Hannity's nightly Fox News show, by helping to organize a boycott of the show's advertisers.  Lord also took exception to Media Matters' acknowledgement that it received a large contribution from Hungarian-American multi-billionaire leftist George Soros.

Jeffrey Lord on CNN.

"Sieg Heil!" ("hail victory") is the verbal part of the Nazi salute or Hitler salute that was commonly employed by citizens of Germany during the authoritarian fascist reign of Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945.  It was usually accompanied by a raised stiff-arm gesture.  Lord also used the phrase in his August 9 article about Media Matters.

In Germany and several other countries, public utterance or display of the Nazi salute is a crime.  Less than a week ago, two Chinese tourists were arrested for allegedly making a Nazi salute while they took photographs of themselves outside the Reichstag in Berlin.  The arrests made international news.

On Thursday afternoon, Lord was on his way from his home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to CNN's studios in Manhattan in a town car provided by the channel when he was informed by cell phone of his firing.  The car turned around and returned him to Harrisburg.  CNN issued a statement: "Nazi salutes are indefensible. Jeffrey Lord is no longer with the network."

President Ronald Reagan and Jeffrey Lord.

Lord, 66, who worked as an associate political director in the administration of President Ronald Reagan, told the New York Times "he found his firing 'incredibly ironic."

I am mocking people who are using bully tactics in the style of fascists and Nazis to take people off the air, and I am the one who gets taken off the air.

This story is just the kind of thing that is red meat for the commentariat, the pundits, and media on both sides of the present ideological divide.  How long it will play out, and what the future holds for Jeffrey Lord, remains to be seen.

Thomas Lifson adds:

This will not silence Jeffrey Lord.  He will have many opportunities ahead.  CNN is exploiting an excuse to rid itself of a voice not popular among the true believers who constitute their audience.  They want the propaganda to remain unchallenged.  And worst of all, he was effective in making his case.

Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about national politics, media, popular culture, and health care.  He is a frequent contributor to American Thinker.  His latest website is AltMedNews.net.