MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd has reportedly been fired after making comments about the death of Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, a right-wing political commentator, was fatally shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10. He was 31.
After his death, Dowd, 64, appeared on MSNBC Live With Katy Tur where host Katy Tur asked him about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens,” according to Variety.
“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,” Dowd replied. “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,” he continued. “And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”
Variety, Deadline and the Wall Street Journal later reported that Dowd was fired, citing network sources.
PEOPLE has reached out to MSNBC for comment.
Dowd’s comments sparked social media outrage, and MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued an apology on the MSNBC Public Relations X account. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise,” Kutler wrote.
Dowd then shared an apology on his BlueSky account, writing, “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,” Dowd continued. “Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.”
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Kirk died after he was shot.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote. “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.”
Kirk, a right-wing media personality who founded conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, was manning his signature “Prove Me Wrong” table on the first stop of his American Comeback Tour in Orem, Utah, when shots were fired.
At a press conference on Wednesday, authorities said a person of interest had been apprehended. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described the shooting as a “political assassination” and said authorities do not have information “that would lead us to believe there is a second person involved.”
FBI Director Kash Patel later announced on X that the subject in custody was “released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” adding, “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
Kirk is survived by his wife, the former Miss Arizona USA Erika Frantzve, and their two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
