2025 lookback: Matthew Dowd fired by MSNBC

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An uncommon media saga unfolded in 2025 when MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd in September for suggesting "hateful" rhetoric from Turning Level USA co-founder Charlie Kirk led to his personal assassination.

Kirk, a number one conservative activist and prime ally of President Donald Trump , died on the age of 31 after he was shot whereas holding an occasion on the campus of Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah. In a surprising second, Dowd steered that Kirk’s assassination was attributable to a series response from his "hateful phrases" towards varied teams.

Dowd mentioned Kirk has been "one of the divisive, particularly divisive youthful figures on this, who is continually kind of pushing this kind of hate speech or kind of geared toward sure teams. And I all the time return to, hateful ideas result in hateful phrases, which then result in hateful actions."

MSNBC FIRES ANALYST MATTHEW DOWD FOR 'UNACCEPTABLE' COMMENTS ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK

MSNBC fired political analyst Matthew Dowd for suggesting "hateful" rhetoric from Charlie Kirk led to his personal assassination. (Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC through Getty Photographs)

"I believe that’s the surroundings we’re in, that the folks simply — you possibly can’t cease with these kind of terrible ideas you've, after which saying these terrible phrases, and never anticipate terrible actions to happen. And that is the unlucky surroundings we're in," he added.

Earlier than the information that Kirk had died, Dowd additionally advised host Katy Tur, "We don’t know any of the complete particulars of this but. We don’t know if this was a supporter taking pictures their gun off in celebration."

MSNBC, which has since been rebranded as MS NOW, publicly condemned Dowd's feedback earlier than he was formally terminated.

"Throughout our breaking information protection of the taking pictures of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made feedback that had been inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," MS NOW President Rebecca Kutler mentioned in a press release. "We apologize for his statements, as has he. There isn't a place for violence in America, political or in any other case."

Dowd's feedback had been extensively condemned within the wake of the tragic taking pictures, with quite a few figures calling for his termination. White Home staffers had been even enraged by Dowd's feedback.

"They're scumbags. They should look inward and notice they're hurting this nation with their terrible rhetoric," a senior Trump administration official advised Fox News Digital in response to the MSNBC phase.

CHARLIE KIRK ROSE TO BECOME CONSERVATIVE POWERHOUSE, TRANSFORMATIVE CAMPUS FIGURE

Matthew Dowd seems on MSNBC on July 26, 2024. (Screenshot/MSNBC)

Dowd, who joined MSNBC in 2022 after a protracted stint at ABC Information, tried to backtrack on the liberal social media platform Bluesky.

"On an earlier look on MSNBC I used to be requested a query on the surroundings we're in. I apologize for my tone and phrases. Let me be clear, I on no account supposed for my feedback guilty Kirk for this horrendous assault. Allow us to all come collectively and condemn violence of any form," Dowd wrote.

Dowd, a Democrat who was previously a Republican strategist and an unbiased, is likely one of the most rabidly anti-GOP voices on cable information. He made a failed bid for the Democratic nomination for Texas lieutenant governor in 2021. Since ABC Information confirmed him the door, Dowd has since launched a Substack and has defended his remarks.

"At MSNBC I've made almost 1,000 appearances, talking on a various vary of matters and all the time persistently condemned gun violence and political violence of any form regardless of the place it got here from. This previous Wednesday I used to be requested to come back on to speak a few vary of matters, and as I used to be about to go on air, breaking information occurred of gun photographs being fired at a Kirk occasion in Utah," Dowd wrote in a Substack put up.

COMCAST EXECUTIVES SCOLD STAFFERS TO ‘DO BETTER’ OVER MSNBC COVERAGE OF CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

Charlie Kirk was a conservative activist who led Turning Level USA. (Alex Brandon/The Related Press)

"Consider when the anchor got here to me to touch upon the ‘nationwide surroundings,’ the one factor identified on the time was photographs had been fired and there was no reporting but that Kirk was the goal or had been shot at," he continued. "I mentioned within the second that we would have liked to get the information as a result of we do not know what this could possibly be and that it may simply be somebody firing a gun within the air to have fun the occasion. Bear in mind Kirk is a diehard advocate of the 2nd modification."

Dowd added: " I mentioned my now legendary line ‘hateful ideas result in hateful phrases which in the end result in hateful actions.’ I believed to myself how may anybody disagree with this. I suppose I used to be naïve… the Proper-Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms, and MSNBC reacted to that mob."

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Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX Information Digital. Story ideas will be despatched to brian.flood@fox.com and on Twitter: @briansflood.