Matthew Dowd, a former senior political analyst for the network, got booted that same year. His firing came after inflammatory remarks he made regarding the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Dowd’s remarks, made during a conversation with Katie Couric shortly after Kirk’s death on September 10 in Utah, suggested that Kirk’s own rhetoric could have played a role in his demise.
Dowd’s remarks followed closely on the heels of a shooting event at Utah Valley University that left Kirk dead. At the time, Dowd theorized that a supporter had discharged their weapon in jubilation. His response was to suggest that this eventuality should not be entirely dismissed. This statement received an enormous outcry and has caused many to question whether it is appropriate to attach a believer’s tragedies directly to his or her statements and beliefs.
In that same interview, Dowd said he was baffled by the firestorm surrounding his remarks. He stated, “You know and I know that’s not anything what I meant. You know it’s been misconstrued.” While I was sympathetic to Dowd as he was clearly being taken out of context and misquoted, this was not the comment that MSNBC ultimately fired him.
The controversy surrounding Dowd’s comments unfolded against a backdrop of heightened tensions following Kirk’s death. In a lengthy Substack post on the matter published on September 12, Dowd tore into MSNBC for succumbing to a “right wing media mob.” He claimed that the network edited his behind-the-scenes opinions of Kirk on-air.
Dowd argued that hateful rhetoric leads to harmful actions, saying, “I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” He further elaborated, “You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have saying these awful words, and then not expect awful actions to take place. That’s the unfortunate environment we are in.”
As Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night host, may be learning as he meets an indefinite suspension from ABC’s airwaves. This follows his release of a scathing statement on the Trump administration’s reaction to Kirk’s death. This incident revealed the toxic atmosphere around public discourse about the event.
After his termination from MSNBC, Dowd expressed disbelief at the network’s decision, telling others involved in the situation, “I think you guys are making a huge mistake.” Second, Dowd is personally working hard to address the fallout from this incident. His comments continue to raise important questions about the relationship between violent rhetoric and real life violence in our modern political dialogue.