FILE - Matthew Dowd, chief campaign strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign, speaks at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
FILE - Matthew Dowd, chief campaign strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign, speaks at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston, File)
Political analyst Matthew Dowd is out of a job at MSNBC after his on-air comment following conservative activist Charlie Kirk's killing about “hateful words" leading to “hateful actions.â€
MSNBC said Thursday that Dowd, a paid political analyst, is “no longer with the network.†Both MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler and Dowd issued public apologies following his commentary, which drew a heated reaction online.
Dowd said shortly after the shooting Wednesday that Kirk was a divisive figure “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 lead to hateful actions. And I think that's the environment we're in.â€
Kutler for Dowd's commentary, which she called “inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.â€
“There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise,†she said.
Dowd, on his Bluesky account, noted that he was asked a question by anchor Katy Tur about the nation's political environment.
“I apologize for my tone and words,†Dowd said. “Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind.â€
Dowd, once a political strategist for President George W. Bush, joined MSNBC in 2022 following in Texas as a Democrat. He spent nearly 15 years as an analyst at ABC News.
