Matthew Dowd broke his silence Friday over his dismissal from MSNBC after his controversial on-air commentary about the Charlie Kirk shooting — in which he said “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which ultimately lead to hateful actions” — went viral.
The former senior political analyst argued that he did not know at the time of the live commentary that Kirk was the target of the campus shooting during his Utah Valley University event. Writing on his personal Substack, the journalist blamed a “right wing media mob” for misconstruing his words and said “MSNBC reacted to that mob.”
“I said that Kirk has been a very divisive and polarizing figure. I then added that we are in a toxic time in America, unlike every other democracy in the world, where we have a combination of divisiveness and near unlimited access to guns. The effort by Holocaust survivors to remind folks of Germany in the 1930s #ItStartedWithWords came to my mind and I said my now legendary line ‘hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which ultimately lead to hateful actions,’” Dowd wrote. “I thought to myself how could anyone disagree with this. I guess I was naive.”
He continued: “The Right Wing media mob ginned up, went after me on a plethora of platforms and MSNBC reacted to that mob. Even though most at MSNBC knew my words were being misconstrued, the timing of my words forgotten (remember I said this before anyone knew Kirk was a target), and that I apologized for any miscommunication on my part, I was terminated by the end of the day.”
Dowd’s commentary kicked off on “MSNBC Reports” around 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, with host Katy Tur asking him to illustrate the social and political environment in which a campus shooting like the one unfolding can happen. Knowing at the time that the Utah Valley University event, which drew thousands of attendees, was the first stop on Kirk’s “The American Comeback Tour,” the journalist argued that Kirk’s own “hate speech” contributed to an environment where such political violence can occur.
“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,” he said.
Dowd described Kirk as “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures” in politics today — one who “constantly” pushes what he called “hate speech aimed at certain groups.”
“I always go back to: Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which then lead to hateful actions,” the analyst told Tur. “And I think that’s the environment that we’re in — that people just, you can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts that you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment that we’re in.”
Watch a clip of his commentary here.
As it became clear that Kirk was shot, and later died, Dowd apologized on Bluesky, and MSNBC issued a statement denouncing the commentary.
“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” network president Rebecca Kutler said. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
He was dismissed by the end of the day Wednesday.
“I am getting over the shell shock of the past few days, and will turn my gaze on adventures and the journey ahead. And a big part of that will be using my voice on this and other platforms to advocate for finding ways to unite our country around a common-sense vision of ideals and values,” Dowd wrote Friday. “It starts with me and all of us looking at each other and out into the world with new eyes: a journey into the unknown that will be filled with mystery and many ups and downs. But reimagining a new America starts with new eyes, leads to a new language, and will involve building new institutions and reforming many that no longer fit us.”
“Even though I am down and a bit disheartened in this moment, I still have hope and faith in a majority of Americans who want and hunger for the same things I do,” he concluded. “We can do this.”
