MSNBC
fires analyst Matthew Dowd over Charlie Kirk shooting remarks
Dowd said
the slain activist’s words may have fueled the violence that claimed his life,
sparking backlash
Joseph
Gedeon in Washington
Thu 11
Sep 2025 14.50 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/msnbc-fires-matthew-dowd-charlie-kirk-shooting
MSNBC
fired its senior political analyst Matthew Dowd after he suggested on air that
the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s own radical rhetoric may have
contributed to the shooting that killed him.
During
his appearance on Katy Tur Reports, Dowd suggested that Kirk’s rhetoric may
have contributed to the violence that claimed his life. Kirk, 31, had a history
of rightwing provocation and Christian nationalism, and frequently espoused
bigoted rhetoric about Islam, women , LGBTQ+ communities and people of color.
“Hateful
thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said,
adding: “You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then
saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place.”
Dowd also
speculated about the circumstances of the shooting, saying: “We don’t know if
this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration. So we have no idea
about this.”
The
network issued an apology and announced Dowd’s dismissal, which came shortly
after Kirk was shot dead during a question-and-answer session at Utah Valley
University in Orem, Utah, where he was kicking off a nationwide campus debate
tour. MSNBC’s president, Rebecca Kutler, described Dowd’s comments as
“inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable” in a statement posted to social
media.
“We
apologize for his statements, as has he,” Kutler wrote. “There is no place for
violence in America, political or otherwise.”
The
network almost immediately severed ties with Dowd, with Deadline reporting that
MSNBC had cut its relationship with the analyst citing “furor over remarks he
made in the aftermath of the shooting”.
Dowd, who
served as chief strategist for George W Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign and
was formerly a political analyst for ABC News, issued his own apology following
the controversy.
Writing
on Bluesky, he said: “My thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends
of Charlie Kirk. On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on
the environment we are in. 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,
co-founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent figure in conservative youth
politics who had been credited with boosting the Maga youth vote during the
2024 election, was fatally shot in the neck during the campus event on
Wednesday afternoon, with multiple videos of the moment spreading across social
media.
Federal
authorities are investigating the shooting, with two persons of interest
initially taken into custody before being released. Both were briefly detained
but released without charge, and a suspect is still at large.
The
killing has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum.
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