By Fran Winston,Katy Hallam
Copyright birminghammail
A renowned political analyst has allegedly been sacked after making contentious remarks about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Matthew Dowd was reportedly let go from his role at MSNBC following comments he made during the network’s coverage of Kirk’s shooting. Station anchor Katy Tur asked him to comment on “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” Read more Bruce Willis’ wife shares ‘first sign’ symptom of devastating dementia diagnosis In response, he 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.” His comments sparked a furore across social media, leading MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler to issue an apology. “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. “We apologise for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise,” she wrote on the MSNBC Public Relations X account. Dowd swiftly issued an apology. Posting on Bluesky, he stated: “I apologise 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.”, reports the Express . Despite his remorse, multiple news reports citing sources at MSNBC have confirmed that the network has terminated him. CNN media analyst Brian Stelter posted on X: “Matthew Dowd is no longer an MSNBC political analyst, according to a network source.” The Wall Street Journal confirmed the news through a person familiar with the matter, while Variety reported that a network source had confirmed the news. Express.co.uk has reached out to MSNBC for comment. One of America’s most outspoken conservative commentators, 31 year old Kirk, was tragically shot dead whilst engaging in a debate with students at Utah Valley University, near Salt Lake City. The identity of his assailant remains unknown. Kirk was responding to a query about the number of mass shootings in America. Moments after he replied, “Counting, or not counting gang violence?” a gunshot echoed through the venue before he could receive an answer – prompting the audience to scatter as he collapsed to the floor with blood streaming from his neck. Donald Trump announced Charlie Kirk’s death in a heartfelt message on TruthSocial. He wrote: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”. Kirk gained fame as the chief executive and founder of Turning Points USA, a youth media organisation renowned for viral clips of Kirk confronting students on progressive university campuses to “prove me wrong,” on contentious issues such as gun control and abortion.
