About

Mehdi Hasan's Jubilee Debate refers to memes and discussions about the YouTube channel Jubilee hosting journalist and political commentator Mehdi Hasan for a video titled, "1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives," in which he defended his opinion that U.S. President Donald Trump was "pro-crime" and that immigrants are a net positive for the United States against a group of people with far-right beliefs. Several internet users posted notable clips and characters from the Jubilee video, including a segment showing a man in a backward hat and pink Polo shirt debating Hasan on economics, and a man named Connor debating Hasan about his preference for an autocratic government. The video also prompted debates over whether Jubilee's videos are a valuable platform for cross-political debate, or if they serve to platform fringe political beliefs. Memes about a mustachioed Iranian American contestant named Matin Samimiat also began making the rounds in the aftermath of the debate.

Origin

On July 20th, 2025, the YouTube^[1] page Jubilee posted a video titled, "1 Progressive vs 20 Far-Right Conservatives (ft. Mehdi Hasan)," gathering over 2 million views in a day on a video in which the former Mehdi Hasan Show host and Zeteo news CEO host debated young self-professed "far-right" people.

On July 20th, 2025, Mehdi Hasan posted clips from the debate to his Twitter / X^[2] account and replied to a tweet asking him not to "debate fascists" by writing, "To be clear, I didn’t know they would be actual outright open fascists!" The post gathered over 9,000 likes in a day.

Online Reactions

Online reactions were sharply split between those who supported Mehdi Hasan's positions and those who supported the positions held by the participants in the debate.

For example, on July 20th, 2025, Canadian participant Sarah Snook @sarahcstock^[5] reposted a segment showing X^[6] user @doomernat debating Mehdi Hasan on how immigration affects wages, praising him. The post gathered over 80,000 likes in a day.

Random young white guy from Texas with no college degree absolutely destroys 46 year old journalist who does this for a living to the point where he has to ask if he’s an economist 👑pic.twitter.com/A3ILcDexDZ

— Sarah Stock ✟ (@sarahcstock) July 20, 2025

That same day, X^[7] user @Antunes1 reposted a clip of Connor AKA X user @FeelsGuy2003 and Instagram user @pinesap3 debating the merits of autocratic governments over democratic ones, gathering over 12,000 likes on a post that read, "We should all carry ourselves like this. Unapologetic. Disruptive. Smart. Vision."

We should all carry ourselves like this.
Unapologetic. Disruptive. Smart. Vision.

An absolute political masterclass.pic.twitter.com/EEGlC9bOEE

— 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐒 (@Antunes1) July 20, 2025

Also on July 20th, 2025, X^[3] user @TheGreeneBJ also posted a clip of Mehdi Hasan debating with Connor, who claims to believe in a majority-white autocratic form of government over American democracy. The clip was captioned, "I wonder to what extent these Jubilee producers think they have a responsibility to the general public…," gathering over 80,000 likes in a day.

I wonder to what extent these Jubilee producers think they have a responsibility to the general public… pic.twitter.com/WdbTelc2DA

— Bryce Greene (@TheGreeneBJ) July 20, 2025

Later that day, X^[4] user @AKindAleWarTV posted a GIF of a hand gesturing towards a group of Klansmen alongside a header that reads, "Jubilee debate recruitment." The post gathered over 30,000 likes in a day.

https://t.co/KgsSkIl4iL pic.twitter.com/keB3l08Yqt

— Aidan Walker (@AKindAleWarTV) July 21, 2025

Related Memes

Mustache Hat Jubilee Guy / Matin Samimiat

Mustache Hat Jubilee Guy is a nickname given to Iranian-American Matin Samimiat or @matinsamimiat, best known for participating in a Jubilee "Surrounded" YouTube video featuring journalist Mehdi Hasan. Matin Samimiat unique and anachronistic appearance, with his flat brimmed hat and pointy mustache, garnered attention online in the aftermath of the Jubilee video. Twitter / X users posted memes and jokes describing him as the "Mexican devil," and looking like an old-timey villain that "took a break from tying a woman to a railroad tracks." Others joked about him resembling Spy vs. Spy, or a traveling magician, or like an puppeteer who was controlling the other contestants with strings. Some internet users also joked about Samimiat being Waluigi Mangione, and highlighted how similar he looked to the suspected UHC shooter.

Search Interest

Unavailable.

External References