Political analyst Matthew Dowd has been fired from MSNBC after his comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a network source.
During MSNBC’s coverage of Kirk’s shooting, anchor Katy Tur asked Dowd about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” Dowd responded with the following about Kirk: “He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in. You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”
The remarks sparked outrage across social media, and MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued an apology in response. She slammed Dowd’s comments as “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.”
“We apologize for his statements, as has he,” Kutler said in a statement shared to the MSNBC Public Relations X account. “There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
Dowd issued his own apology for his commentary on his BlueSky account. He wrote, “I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.”
Kirk died on Wednesday after he was shot at a college event in Utah. He was 31 years old.
Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon. In his post, he wrote, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
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