MSNBC's Matthew Dowd Fired Following Charlie Kirk Shooting Comments

[orangecrush]

Matthew Dowd, a MSNBC political analyst, has been fired following statements he made on the network in the wake of the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an MSNBC source has confirmed.

Kirk died Wednesday on the campus of Utah Valley University after being shot by an assassin’s bullet.

When discussing the shooting on air, MSNBC correspondent Katy Tur asked a question about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.”

Dowd, in his response, stated, “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.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/matthew-dowd-fired-charlie-kirk-shooting-comments-msnbc-1236368003/

And MSNBC fired him for that.

Fucking cowards.

[yardwork]

1. What he said was responsible journalism.

The fact that he was fired for saying that is a sign that we're living under fascism.

[orangecrush]

2. Goodbye first amendment

[EdmondDantes_]

39. This has nothing to do with the first amendment

If I were to post something like "my boss kicks puppies" I'd be fired too. The government isn't punishing him, his employer is. You can disagree with that, but it still has nothing to do with the government taking away freedom of speech.

[rubbersole]

41. His employers are afraid of offending "government".

[some_of_us_are_sane]

68. That's it PRECISELY.

They are folding, just like so MANY to this lunatic president.

Because of the PRECEDENT he's established -- firing people, dismantling institutions and attempting to redefine what our democracy is, he's brought terror to free speech.

[hadEnuf]

43. The government is actively threatening and sanctioning media to say or not say things.

How is that not messing with the 1st Amendment?

[johnnyplankton]

50. Tell that to Colbert. Expect more terminations of late night hosts at networks.

[littlemissmartypants]

30. Another sign. They're adding up fast.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

67. I agree

Dowd's comments were responsible journalism. I disagree with the decision to fire Dowd

[RandiFan1290]

3. MSNBC fired Donahue for W Bush

None of this is new.

[gab13by13]

10. I agree, contrary to popular belief,

MSNBC, in general, is not a liberal network.

MSNBC fired my favorite anchor, Dylan Ratigan for the crime of going around the country exposing crony capitalism. I guess that one of the crony capitalists complained.

Fired Ed Schultz for his backing of unions.

Fired Keith Olbermann for his in your face attacks on "conservatives.

Fired many more or demoted many more for not reading the "conservative" teleprompter."

It is fitting that Dowd was fired while being interviewed by the clueless Katy Tur.

[Dr. T]

22. Dowd should wear his firing

as a badge of honor. I hope his career rebounds to unimaginable heights.

[rurallib]

48. at this point I remember Joy Reid

Thanks for pointing out what MSNBC really is

[not fooled]

49. Yep, Where's Joy Reid? nt

[tulipsandroses]

4. More reason I will not pay to watch them. More reasons why their ratings are shit despite firing anyone who speaks the

truth.

[LuvLoogie]

23. I don't watch ANY television news. I don't have a television.

My last tv was an CRT that I recycled after the broadcasts went digital. Every now and then I will watch news on a random tv or at someone else's house.

The general format of MSM tv news is just gross. I appreciate the commentary of many journalists, but ultimately these news organizations serve corporate interests and, increasingly, white nationalism.

[Deminpenn]

5. Dowd certainly spoke the truth

about the environment created by the rw haters. The haters are as old as this country and have always been part of the conservative electoral coalition. It's only been recently that they've been able to crawl out from under their rocks to be recognized, and unfortunately, given media platforms to spew their ugly rhetoric.

[Farmer-Rick]

37. Kirk walked the edges of stochastic terroism and got bit

He shrugged over murders, even if children died in mass. He thought it was fine if people died to be able to own guns and weapons.

The right wing calls out for stochastic terroism and think they can control it. They think they can direct it. They let it lose and then wonder when it turns on them. It's a monster that they unleash that sometimes turns on their master.

But as usual they don't take credit for their actions and blame the "other" whoever that is at the time. Seems it's Dowd who is getting blamed today.

[Renew Deal]

6. I don't think what he said is even controversial.

[Fullduplexxx]

7. But d.u.ers will continue to support msnbc

[Katinfl]

16. I tune in less and less lately.

Are there any other stations out there for us?

[MaineBlueBear]

27. No

Cable TV media is only as liberal as their corporate masters will allow. There's no such thing as liberal media in America.

It's a myth and a lot of people fell for it, because they were programmed to.

[Katinfl]

32. You are so right.

And the fact that Matthew Dowd was fired for speaking the truth proves it once again.

[sop]

8. MSNBC (or whatever they're calling themselves now) can't handle the truth.

Apparently, Dowd wasn't sufficiently hagiographic. Most corporate media pundits have been treating Kirk's death like they would the loss of an important, beloved political figure, when the man was nothing more than a dangerous rightwing social media demagogue, who became popular by appealing to the basest instincts of the manosphere. The network can rebrand itself MS NOW, but their corporate owners are still a bunch of ass-kissing Republicans.

[Emile]

9. Whitewashing the truth.

[gab13by13]

12. Afraid of being attacked by Krasnov for speaking the truth.

We do not know that the radical left killed Kirk, but that's what the MSM is pushing.

I live among Magats and there are a couple of gun ranges near me where one can practice shooting long distances, one is called Long Shot.

Shit, many people set up their own targets to shoot 200 yards. Saying it was a professional hit is another assumption.

[samsingh]

11. I'm watching msnbc much less since they have been muzzled

[gab13by13]

14. When were they muzzled?

What year did they fire Dylan Ratigan?

[Katinfl]

15. Ratigan has been gone a long time.

[Just Jerome]

52. Don't forget

Martin Bashir.

[samsingh]

13. Progressives with money need to buy a network

And be unabashedly liberal and counter fox lies

[gab13by13]

17. Bingo,

Whoever sponsored it would be attacked mercilessly.

[SheltieLover]

54. And AM radio stations!

[Johonny]

18. He said the truth and it got him fired

Which is obviously the best demonstration of how awful Trump has made America. Forget Trump bringing back free speech. Trump has destroyed free speech. Ironically something Charlie Kirk is being praised for . . . America is a shit hole thanks to Trump.

[Paladin]

19. Just fuck MSNBC. (nt)

[oberle]

20. MSNBC has been completely disengenuous (spelling?)

Last night you would have thought a hero had died. Same this morning. Nary a mention of what a horrible mad he was.

[Hornedfrog2000]

26. Perfect word for it

Disingenuous. They are double speaking, and have been instrumental in stringing us along. I will wait for the people to tell me the multimillionaire talking heads are our friends.

[mnhtnbb]

28. I watched Nicolle Wallace, Chris Hayes

and Lawrence O' Donnell yesterday. Haven't watched MSNBC in a very long time. Not since the election. Right away, Nicolle had a guest who listed all the attacks on Democratic political figures--or spouses like Nancy Pelosi's husband. All three shows were making the point that polarizing, hateful, racist and bigoted views are not leading to anything but violence. Excerpts of Kirk's views were put up on the screen. It was very clear--without saying it--what was being said.

[appmanga]

66. Nicolle and Lawrence are very skilled at walking the corporate tightrope...

...that exists at MSNBC. They've been there long enough to know their company is full of shit and, outside of (maybe) Rachel Maddow, anybody is expendable. Even Dowd's most regrettable statement, which was about a weapon possibly being fired in celebration, didn't merit more than a short suspension. And Dowd, a former Republican operative, isn't close to being the kind of "raving lefty lunatic" the MAGAts grouse about.

This is yet another example of how successful Trump's authoritarian regime has been.

[Feel Good Inc]

38. Yes but I watched CNN (didn't FOX bc I don't need to)n and even still, MSNBC was better.

CNN did everything they could to canonize Kirk. MSNBC still at least took time to highlight Kirk's divisive remarks and Democrats who were also targeted.

I get it's a tightrope with MSNBC's top brass but it's still better than the alternatives and the only media narrative that wasn't bordering, or outright taking part in, hero worship with Kirk.

[redstatebluegirl]

42. It is even more of a tightrope with the orange wonder in office.

News is a business, Trump has successfully sued ABC and that put the fear into all of the media. No business wants to be sued for millions of dollars by a man who owns the courts.

Is that right, of course not, but it is how business, and education operate. The fear of litigation has kept lawyers in business forever.

[ToxMarz]

21. Main steam media only want lots of "thoughts and prayers"

and for anything else, the obligatory "it's too soon to talk about that" until no one's talking about it anymore.

[Hornedfrog2000]

24. He literally states the cause and effect

Tell me again how msnbc is some champion of democrats?

[still-prayin4rain]

25. We can't have the news or journalists telling the truth!!!

[Botany]

29. What did he say that was wrong? Kirk was a professional troll who spread hate, lies, and division.

Welcome to fascism. The world is a better place now that Charlie Kirk is dead. I feel bad for his
wife, kids, and family but I have zero sympathy for him. He was well paid by TPTB to be a shit and
to re-enforce ignorance and bigotry among young white (mostly males). I wonder if the shooter who
killed and wounded the law makers in Minnesota ever listened to Kirk?

[GiqueCee]

31. A question that has plagued me for years...

... is why do billionaires, who have more money than they could spend in 10 lifetimes, not just sit in the Sun on some tropical isle, sipping their Mimosas, and watch the world go by? What is this insatiable craving to fuck with the lives of those less fortunate? They could do so much good with their incomprehensible wealth, but instead, they do their damnedest to destroy the world that made their accumulation of such wealth possible in the first place. One of the Koch brothers, I think it was the dead one, was reputed to have said, "I just want my share, and that's ALL of it!" Pretty much sums it up.
All of M$M is owned and run by such despicable people, and they cannot abide critical thinking or truth to be expressed on their networks. They see it as an attack on their innate superiority, so they crush it.
I'm sure that Mr. Dowd will find a position that welcomes his insight and his honesty.

[Martin Eden]

56. For them, life is a competition to accumulate wealth and power

Their ego is never satisfied if they're not among the top tier of billionaires, recognized by their peers as such.

They cloak their insatiable greed with "conservative" ideology that equates unfettered capitalism with freedom and American ideals, promoted to the public by the media they own and politicians whose careers they finance.

They've partnered with the religious right, promoting culture wars which have convinced large swaths of Americans that Republicans stand for God and country.

While the Greedy Old Pigs are picking the pockets of their voters, who often stuggle to get by from paycheck to paycheck and may now lose their healthcare.

[GiqueCee]

72. Robert Mercer...

... once said about the obsessive accumulation of wealth, that "money is how we keep score!"

[Martin Eden]

73. If there is a heaven, entry through the Pearly Gates

Likely depends on a very different scorebook.

[Jarqui]

33. What a disgrace.

Dowd offers an opinion (which I generally agree with) that is supposed to be protected by the first amendment and he's fired for it.

We're 'not supposed to speak ill of the dead.' So I won't. I have nothing good to say about Charlie Kirk. I will not miss him.

[Puppyjive]

34. He was spot on

They are fools. MSNBC is going dowhill fast.

[Puppyjive]

35. Their plug is getting pulled

They are about to lose their biggest advertisers thanks to RFK. This is one I agree with. Pharmaceuticals will have to advertise every side affect for every drug they advertise. That will make each commercial go on forever. It might be the end of 24 hour news cycle.

[EnergizedLib]

36. Always caving

How sickening.

[Marcuse]

40. MSNBC has never been progressive. We are just their business plan.

[LSparkle]

53. "We are their business plan"

Perfectly said. That explains my feelings of betrayal since the election. I thought I was watching the news and that Harris really stood a chance. All they wanted was my eyeballs on their infotainment. Fuck them for using people’s belief in our democracy just to jack us around.

[3825-87867]

44. M.S.N.B.C.

Media Sycophants Nepo Business Conservatives

[CarolinaNC]

45. Matthew Dowd was right in what he said! Put him back MSNBC! NOW

[democrank]

46. MSNBC honchos apparently lean toward supporting Trump's effed up rules

Woke = bad
Anti-woke= great again

Matt Dowd told the truth and paid a price for it.

[Americanme]

47. Matthew Dowd said nothing offensive.

He answered the question he was asked. What did they want him to say? Fired? For what?

[orangecrush]

64. Because Trump

Or someone in his orbit snapped their fingers, that's why

[Beringia]

51. He was speaking the truth. It sucks he got fired for it

[OLDMDDEM]

55. Makes no sense.

[mvd]

57. That was the truth

Just look at what Trump said - blaming the “radical left” for everything. The MAGAs have caused more division than any time since the Civil War.

[3catwoman3]

58. What bullshit!

Every word he said was 100% true.

[orangecrush]

62. Yup

[Stargazer99]

59. This is a damn good explanation why capitalism is an evil system

and the general public are beginning to put two and two together and the wealthy are going to fight analyzing the present system. No wonder they took analytical thinking out of public school system

[underpants]

60. Ridiculous. Fox and MAGA X is saying the exact same thing in the other direction.

[Silent Type]

61. Are we now giving kudos to a Bush-Cheney strategist?

[kentuck]

63. Sounds like Dowd was very close to the truth....

...in my opinion.

[orangecrush]

65. I saw nothing remotely objectional

[LetMyPeopleVote]

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

This was a bad decision by MSNBC

Link to tweet

[allegorical oracle]

70. Heard Dowd say that, yesterday, and thought it to be a very wise and

considered opinion. Still agree with his gentle response because he spoke the truth. Hatred does breed more hatred. Would hope to see him be returned to the network's panels.

Once again, it goes back to folks who hourly dish out hateful words and deeds while they expect those on the receiving end to just silently sit and take it. This unfair, one-way tyranny has been going on for a decade, now.

[Faux pas]

71. Eff the truth

that's the way of the fascist society