MSNBC drops Matthew Dowd over on-air remarks about Charlie Kirk shooting

MSNBC has apologized and, according to multiple outlets (Deadline, Variety, THR), fired analyst Matthew Dowd after comments he made on air following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

During a live segment with Katy Tur as news of the attack was breaking on Sept. 10, Dowd called Kirk “one of the most divisive… younger figures” and added:

“Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions… You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts… and not expect awful actions to take place.”

He also floated, briefly and inaccurately, whether it could have been “a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.”

The pushback was immediate. By evening, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued a rare on-air guest rebuke:

“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”

Dowd followed with his own mea culpa on Bluesky:

“I apologize for my tone and words… I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack.” He added, “Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.”

Kirk, the Turning Point USA co-founder and a close political ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Officials have called it a “targeted attack” and a “political assassination.” As of early Sept. 11, authorities were still searching for the shooter. Federal and state investigators say they’re working “around the clock,” and the FBI later offered a reward and released images of a person of interest.

Republicans and Democrats alike condemned the killing. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called it a political assassination; Trump ordered flags at half-staff and said Kirk was “a giant of his generation.” Leaders across the aisle urged Americans to reject political violence.

Dowd wasn’t the only one facing consequences for reactions to the shooting:

• TMZ apologized after laughter from elsewhere in its newsroom was overheard during live coverage, calling it “tone deaf.”
• Middle Tennessee State University fired an employee over “inappropriate and callous” social posts about the incident, the university’s president said.

A longtime political hand, Dowd served as chief strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection, later spent years as an analyst at ABC News, and joined MSNBC as a contributor in 2022. He briefly ran for Texas lieutenant governor in 2021.

Live breaking-news coverage is messy and unforgiving—and remarks that sound like moral cause-and-effect, especially before facts are known, can read like blame. That’s the line Dowd crossed in the eyes of MSNBC brass. The network’s swift apology, plus his removal, underscore how little tolerance there is right now—across politics and media—for anything that can be construed as excusing or rationalizing political violence.

With input from the New York Times, USA Today, and ABC News.