--- title: MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd’s Charlie Kirk Commentary description: "Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," read a statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler. canonical: https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/ author: Callum Sutherland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-09-11T11:47:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-09-11T18:19:31.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd’s Charlie Kirk Commentary og:description: "Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," said MSNBC's president. og:url: https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt196c2580a5b78ff0/6998c9ad7323af6ed62bcd4a/GettyImages-2234098167.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd’s Charlie Kirk Commentary twitter:description: "Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," said MSNBC's president. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt196c2580a5b78ff0/6998c9ad7323af6ed62bcd4a/GettyImages-2234098167.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd's 'Insensitive' On-Air Comments After Charlie Kirk Shooting > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Charlie Kirk Dead After Being Shot at Utah Valley University Event [Watch (HLS stream): Charlie Kirk Dead After Being Shot at Utah Valley University Event](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KdG3rb4M.m3u8) (2:34)  _Published 2025-09-10. Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative commentator and founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, has died after being shot at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He was 31. President Donald Trump, a political ally and friend of Kirk's, announced his death in a post on social media._ by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Updated: Sep 11, 2025 6:19 PM UTCPublished: Sep 11, 2025 11:47 AM UTC  Charlie Kirk throws President Trump's trademark "Make America Great Again" hats to the crowd at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Charlie Kirk throws President Trump's trademark "Make America Great Again" hats to the crowd at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune—Getty Images by [Callum Sutherland](https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/) ## Callum Sutherland Reporter Updated: Sep 11, 2025 6:19 PM UTCPublished: Sep 11, 2025 11:47 AM UTC MSNBC issued an apology over on-air comments made by political analyst Matthew Dowd in the wake of [the shooting](https://time.com/7316280/charlie-kirk-dead-political-violence/) of influential conservative activist [Charlie Kirk](https://time.com/7096594/charlie-kirk-conservative-activist-republican-donald-trump-campaign-figure/), before his death had been confirmed. “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive, and unacceptable,” read a [statement](https://x.com/MSNBCPR/status/1965913652671754280) from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.” Dowd, a long-standing political commentator, who served as the chief strategist for George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign, was asked on-air to talk about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” After emphasizing that there were no details of the shooting at that time, Dowd said of 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 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’s the environment we’re 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.” Following the on-air commentary, a source at the network has told TIME that Dowd is no longer with MSNBC. On Thursday morning, during the opening of MSNBC's _Morning Joe_ show, host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives, praised MSNBC's leadership in condemning Dowd's remarks. “Matthew Dowd yesterday came on and made a wild speculation that was obviously wrong and extraordinarily hurtful to many people, and Rebecca Kutler said so last night, \[she\] came out and condemned his words in the strongest terms, so we’re glad that she did that,” Scarborough said. **Read More**: [_The Killing of Charlie Kirk and the Political Violence Haunting America_](https://time.com/7316280/charlie-kirk-dead-political-violence/) Dowd himself apologized prior to the statement from MSNBC’s president. “My thoughts and prayers are with 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,” [Dowd said via BlueSky](https://bsky.app/profile/matthewjdowd.bsky.social/post/3lyj6q4qgdc2l). “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.” Kirk, 31, died on Wednesday after he was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University on the first stop of his fall campus tour. The co-founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative non-profit student organization, was surrounded by thousands of attendees when he was struck in the neck. The manhunt for Kirk's killer has entered its second day, as police continue searching for a suspect.[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/us/charlie-kirk-martyr-conservative-christians.html) A strong ally of President Donald Trump, Kirk played a key role during the 2024 presidential election as he promoted Trump’s campaign and messaging on campuses across the U.S. “Charlie Kirk is helping. He’s got his army of young people. These are young patriots,” Trump said while speaking at the [Turning Point Action Conference in Detroit in June](https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5120988/donald-trump-speaks-turning-point-action-conference) 2024\. “We thank you, Charlie.” **Read More:** [_Meet Charlie Kirk, the Conservative Activist Who Is a Key Figure in Trump’s Campaign_](https://time.com/7096594/charlie-kirk-conservative-activist-republican-donald-trump-campaign-figure/) It was Trump who [announced Kirk’s death](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115181934991844419) on Wednesday. The President praised his work and said “no one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.” Trump further [addressed](https://time.com/7316299/charlie-kirk-shot-death-donald-trump-speech-transcript-political-violence/) the incident in a video statement, during which he said the shooting is “a dark moment for America” and argued “radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis… this kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country and it must stop right now,” said Trump, who also referenced the [assassination attempt on his own life](https://time.com/6999231/trump-shooting-parallels-history/) that took place during a rally in Butler, Pa., in July 2024. There has been a rise in political violence in America which has seen people of all political affiliations targeted. This year alone has seen the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, [set](https://time.com/7277727/cody-balmer-arson-suspect-governor-josh-shapiro/) on fire by an arsonist, the fatal shooting of [two Democratic Minnesota legislators and their spouses](https://time.com/7294233/minnesota-lawmakers-melissa-hortman-husband-killed-john-hoffman-wife-shot/), the [killing of two Israeli embassy staffers](https://time.com/7287783/trump-israeli-embassy-staff-dc-shooting-politicians-react/) outside the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C., a man shouting "free Palestine" [tossing Molotov cocktails at a pro-Israeli demonstration](https://time.com/7290355/boulder-colorado-attack-what-we-know/) in Boulder, Co., and a gunman who allegedly held anti-vaccine views [opening fire at the CDC headquarters](https://time.com/7308980/cdc-shooting-dark-sign-america/) in Atlanta. There are now concerns that this latest instance of political violence—the killing of Kirk—could serve as a catalyst for further division and radicalization. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/"},"headline":"MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd's 'Insensitive' On-Air Comments After Charlie Kirk Shooting","datePublished":"2025-09-11T11:47:24.000Z","dateModified":"2025-09-11T18:19:31.000Z","description":"\"Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,\" read a statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler.","url":"https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/","keywords":["republicans","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt196c2580a5b78ff0/6998c9ad7323af6ed62bcd4a/GettyImages-2234098167.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Callum Sutherland","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/callum-sutherland/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt196c2580a5b78ff0/6998c9ad7323af6ed62bcd4a/GettyImages-2234098167.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University","caption":"Political Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead At Utah Valley University","creditText":"Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/republicans/","name":"republicans"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/7316346/matthew-dowd-fired-reports-charlie-kirk-commentary-political-violence/","name":"MSNBC Apologizes Over Matthew Dowd's 'Insensitive' On-Air Comments After Charlie Kirk Shooting"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Charlie Kirk Dead After Being Shot at Utah Valley University Event","description":"Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative commentator and founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, has died after being shot at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. 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