MSNBC Fires Matthew Dowd After Charlie Kirk Comments - Report

It took just a few hours for MSNBC to show Matthew Dowd the door. The longtime analyst and former George Bush strategist was fired tonight, September 10, hours after his remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's death drew outrage across social media and furious pushback from the right.

According to Variety, he was out of the network soon after.

It al started when Dowd was on air with Katy Tur when he wondered if the shooter (Kirk hadn't been declared dead yet) could be one of his supporters who shot him by mistake.

Then he was asked about "the environment in which a shooting like this happens." His response: Kirk was "one of the most divisive younger figures" who pushed "hate speech aimed at certain groups." He added, "Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions."

The reaction in social media was brutal, mainly by right wing X (Twitter) users. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You're gonna sit there with a straight face and tell me a supporter of Charlie Kirk doesn't know basic gun safety? And just accidentally fires off a neck shot?" one tweet read. Another user wrote, "That was a sniper shot. You could hear how far away this shot was."

Many posts framed the speculation as an attempt to spin the story while facts were still emerging. "Unreal. Trying to spin this already. There are no words to describe my dislike for a party I once was a part of," one former Democrat wrote. Another user added, "Shut them down. It's platforms like them that create monsters like the coward who shot Charlie."

A few hours later, MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler posted a public apology.

"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 himself also apologized on his Blue Sky account:

"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," he wrote.

However, by the end of the day, he was out.

Who Is Matthew Dowd?

For readers who know him only as a TV talking head, Dowd's résumé is long. Born in Detroit in 1961, he cut his teeth as a Republican strategist and rose to become chief strategist for George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. He later broke with the GOP, re-registered as an independent, and even ran briefly for lieutenant governor in Texas as a Democrat in 2021.

Dowd has been a fixture on cable news panels for more than a decade, moving from ABC News to MSNBC, where he was often cast as the voice of data-driven analysis. Now, like others before him, his career has been upended by comments made in the Trump era, and while his words about the Kirk's murder may have been the last nail in the coffin, he has criticized the President and the MAGA movement for years.