2025 lookback: Matthew Dowd fired by MSNBC
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An unusual media saga emerged in September when MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for suggesting that Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk’s “hateful” rhetoric led to his own assassination in 2025.
Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and top ally of President Donald Trump, died at the age of 31 after he was shot while holding an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. In a telling moment, Dowd suggested that Kirk’s assassination resulted from a chain reaction stemming from his “hateful words” towards various groups.
Dowd said Kirk “is one of the most divisive, especially divisive young figures in this space, constantly pushing this kind of hate speech or rhetoric that targets specific groups.” “And I always think that hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”
MSNBC FIRES ANALYST MATTHEW DOWD FOR ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ COMMENTS ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK
MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for suggesting that Charlie Kirk’s “hateful” rhetoric led to his own assassination. (Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC via Getty Images)
“I think that’s the environment we’re in, where you can’t have people having these terrible thoughts and then saying these terrible words and waiting for terrible actions to happen. And that’s the unfortunate environment that we’re in,” he added.
Before news of Kirk’s death, Dowd told host Katy Tur: “We don’t know all the details of this yet. We don’t know if there was a fan who fired his gun in celebration.”
MSNBC, which has since been rebranded as MS NOW, publicly condemned Dowd’s comments before he was officially terminated.
“During our breaking coverage of the Charlie Kirk shooting, Matthew Dowd made inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable comments,” MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. he said. “We also apologize for his statements. There is no place for violence, political or otherwise, in America.”
Following the tragic attack, Dowd’s comments were widely condemned, with many calling for his sacking. Even White House staffers were outraged by Dowd’s comments.
“They’re assholes. They need to look within themselves and realize they’re hurting this country with their terrible rhetoric,” a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital in response to the MSNBC segment. he said.
CHARLIE KIRK ROSE WILL BE THE POWER OF THE CONSERVATIVE, THE TRANSFORMATIVE CAMPUS FIGURE
Matthew Dowd appears on MSNBC July 26, 2024. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
Dowd, who joined MSNBC in 2022 after a long stint at ABC News, has sought to step back from liberal social media platform Bluesky.
“On a previous appearance on MSNBC, I was asked a question about the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, my comments were in no way intended to blame Kirk for this horrific attack. Let’s all come together and condemn all forms of violence,” Dowd wrote.
Dowd, a Democrat formerly a Republican strategist and independent, is one of the fiercest anti-GOP voices on cable news. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Texas in 2021. Since ABC News showed him the door, Dowd started a Substack and defended his words.
“I have appeared on MSNBC nearly 1,000 times, speaking on a wide range of topics, and have always consistently condemned gun violence and all forms of political violence no matter where it originates. This past Wednesday, I was asked to speak on a number of topics and was about to go on air when breaking news came that shots had been heard at a Kirk event in Utah,” Dowd wrote in a Substack post.
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Charlie Kirk was a conservative activist who ran Turning Point USA. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
“Keep in mind that when the news came to me to comment on the ‘national environment’, all that was known at the time was that there had been shots fired and there was no report yet that Kirk was the target or that he had been shot at.” he continued. “I said at that moment that we needed to get the facts because we have no idea what this could be and it could easily be possible for someone to fire a gun into the air to celebrate the occasion. Remember, Kirk is a staunch supporter of the 2nd amendment.”
Dowd added: “I said my now legendary quote: ‘Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which in turn lead to hateful actions.’ I thought to myself, how could anyone disagree with this? “I guess I was naive… The right-wing media mob took action, went after me on multiple platforms, and MSNBC reacted to the mob.”
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