Matthew Dowd fired from MSNBC For saying what we all know

[SamuelTheThird]

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/matthew-dowd-fired-msnbc-charlie-kirk-death-1236514875/

[tulipsandroses]

1. I'm still waiting for Fox to fire someone for their outright bigotry and hate

........................................................

[Initech]

13. Jesse Watters absolutely should be.

Dude has been cranking up the paranoia to 11 today.

[BootinUp]

2. Dowd was a big time Bush guy. Yeah I hold grudges sometimes. nt

[Cha]

7. Yeah, but now he told the truth about

CK. And Fired because of it.. by the Fascist enabling media head.

I have forever well earned Grudges, too.. Those I consider Responsible for Getting the Traitor in our WH in the 1st place.

[BootinUp]

11. We don't really know what the motive was. nt

[UTUSN]

3. Truth is

[Cha]

5. Oh Shit I hoped that wasn't coming!

[walkingman]

6. What he said is exactly correct -

During MSNBC’s coverage of Kirk’s shooting, anchor Katy Tur asked Dowd about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” Dowd responded with the following about Kirk: “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. 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. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”


We are in the "Cracker Barrel" era of journalism in America.

[House of Roberts]

10. Dowd tried to sound eloquent

but ultimately, it still boiled down to victim blaming, and that's what got him fired.

[Raven123]

26. So his statement would have been acceptable if someone else was shot?

If the quote is accurate, what I am understanding from it is violent thoughts and words provoke violent actions. One may disagree with that statement, but hardly a reason to fire him. Maybe I missed something.

[Nimble_Idea]

30. timing is everything in MAGA State media

who cares who they fired though, no one watches the MSM anymore. If you wanted real news, people streamed it live without any censorship.

and it wasn't the corporate news that people tuned in for real coverage. no censorship, just the raw video.

Dowd would be better off working for new Media. OLD MEDIA is just like print newspapers, irrelevant.

[WVGIRL]

8. That is really odd because...

….maybe it was concurrent to Matt Dowd’s appearance but trump made a statement blaming Kirk’s assassination on “the radical left”. i do see now that dowd seemed to be blaming the victim for his own death though.

[gopiscrap]

16. as well he should have blamed Kirk fafo, karma, what goes around, reap what you sow....

[Keepthesoulalive]

9. Ok what did you expect

Journalism from cowardly management. It is a business and you don’t want lord trump coming after you.

[JBTaurus83]

12. The corporate media will be useless and worthless in our new fascist environment.

[Nimble_Idea]

31. i disagree. this corporate media got exactly the environment they wanted.

and created

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. 'Optics' are everything in modern journalism.

Truth isn't as important. He could've said the same thing with different words, but ge chose the ones that made the truth unmistakeable -- in an opinion, no less. He left no wiggle room, no space for "My words were misinterpreted," and that's a capital offense in tee vee news, unless you're Rachel Maddow or someone else worth billions to the network. Everyone else needs peermission to tell such brutal truth.

[AZJonnie]

15. That does pretty much boil down to "he got himself shot with his rhetoric"

Can't fault M$NBC too much on this one, esp. mere hours after an event like this, and ESPECIALLY not when probably a sizeable % of the country saw how grisly it was in the videos that rapidly circulated. You might be able to more tactfully say something like this in a week, but this was def. in the 'too soon' window.

[valleyrogue]

37. Exactly. Dowd could have waited until days or weeks later to say it.

Matthew Dowd lacks sense and brains just like people like Charlie Kirk.

[live love laugh]

17. What did he say?

[orleans]

18. here ya go

During MSNBC’s coverage of Kirk’s shooting, anchor Katy Tur asked Dowd about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” Dowd responded with the following about Kirk: “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. 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. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”

The remarks sparked outrage across social media, and MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued an apology in response. She slammed Dowd’s comments as “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.”

“We apologize for his statements, as has he,” Kutler said in a statement shared to the MSNBC Public Relations X account. “There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
Dowd issued his own apology for his commentary on his BlueSky account. He wrote, “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.”

a bit more
no paywall: https://archive.is/Xl7FH

[proud patriot]

19. see post 6

[Karasu]

20. This is how you know you live in a fascist shithole.

[BidenRocks]

21. He said nothing wrong

MSNBC is gun shy about lawsuits and are overly thin skinned.

They also are looking to downsize and will use any excuse.

I don't watch much since November.

[Joinfortmill]

22. Fired for speaking the truth. He didn't condone the actions, he explained them

The truth matters.

[eppur_se_muova]

34. It's the "use/mention distinction". Fundamental logical concept. Point lost on network execs who are too busy ...

... shaking in their boots over possible lawsuits. Especially from DOTPL*.





*that's Dept. of Turnip's Personal Lawyers.

[vercetti2021]

23. Fuck MSNBC

And any fucking media that is whitewashing this POS hateful platform. Rest in piss, Kirk.

[SheltieLover]

27. Hi V!

Been wondering how you are. Nice to see you!

[vercetti2021]

28. Oh just lingering a bit

Nothing new, just wanted to pop in today to see how people were reacting to the news

[SheltieLover]

29. Well it's nice to see you out & about

[littlemissmartypants]

24. Archive link, registration free

https://archive.ph/Xl7FH

[pfitz59]

25. Another reporter fired for speaking the truth

sad

[Takket]

32. We have lost our minds as a society

Dowd merely put out there that Kirk’s words could very likely have inspired someone to enough anger to kill him. Not at all an unreasonable explanation for what happened. Are we just going to ignore the reality of what Kirk was and invent a narrative that he was a beloved and benevolent figure?

Will we create murals of him with a halo over his head walking with children and lepers?

[Liberal In Texas]

33. Geeze MSNBC...firing somebody for telling the truth?

Too bad it wasn't "sensitive!"
Kirk was a monster. He was part of the fascist movement.

I fear MSNBC is starting to slide into the morass of the right.

[miyazaki]

35. Rightly sue the fuckers. You too can use the law!

[valleyrogue]

36. He could have simply kept his mouth shut, and he still would have had a job.

Matthew Dowd lacks any kind of sense. Not the time and the place to say in effect Kirk deserved what he got.

Dowd basically deserved what HE got because he lacked sense.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

38. Matthew Dowd was just fired from MSNBC for saying this

This was a bad decision by MSNBC

Link to tweet