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MSNBC has fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for suggesting “hateful” rhetoric from TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk led to his own assassination, two sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
The network previously denounced Dowd’s comments on social media.
“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
A spokesperson for MSNBC declined to comment. Dowd joined MSNBC in 2022 after a long stint at ABC News.
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After Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon, Dowd suggested it was caused by a chain reaction from his “hateful words” against various groups. Kirk, a leading conservative activist and top ally of President Donald Trump, later died at the age of 31.
Before the news that Kirk had died, Dowd told MSNBC host Katy Tur, “We don’t know any of the full details of this yet. We don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.”
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Dowd said Kirk has 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.”
“I think that’s the environment we’re in, that the people just — 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’re in,” he added.
Dowd’s comments were widely condemned in the wake of the tragic shooting, with numerous figures calling for his termination.
Dowd tried to backtrack on the liberal social media platform Bluesky.
“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,” Dowd wrote.
Dowd, a Democrat who was formerly a Republican strategist and an independent, is one of the most rabidly anti-GOP voices on cable news. He made a failed bid for the Democratic nomination for Texas lieutenant governor in 2021.
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Many called for Dowd’s firing before MSNBC had shown him the door.
“Dowd should be fired immediately; I expect him to be terminated within 24 hours. You can’t say Charlie deserved to die. You just can’t say that, and I hope he loses his job,” Fox News’ Jesse Watters said on “The Five.”
White House staffers were enraged by Dowd’s comments.
“They are scumbags. They need to look inward and realize they are hurting this nation with their awful rhetoric,” a senior Trump administration official told Fox News Digital in reaction to the MSNBC segment.
Kirk, the founder of one of the most influential political organizations in the country, was shot while holding an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He later died of his wound, leaving the country reeling from another act of horrific political violence.
Fox News’ Brian Flood and Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
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