MSNBC has fired senior political analyst Matthew Dowd Wednesday for comments he made regarding Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting in Utah earlier that day, a network source told TheWrap.

The network has not issued a formal statement regarding Dowd’s termination. But the decision comes just hours after it had already denounced Dowd’s remarks in a statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler.

More from TheWrap

“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” Kutler said. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”

Dowd has also not commented publicly, but he issued his own apology Wednesday on BlueSky.

“My thoughts & prayers are w/ 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. 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.”

Earlier in the day during an appearance on “MSNBC Reports,” Dowd argued that 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. The comments were made at 3 p.m. ET, before it had been reported that Kirk had died.

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.

Kirk was a prominent conservative political commentator and Turning Point USA co-founder known in part for his signature touring events in which he engaged directly with high school and college students across the United States, inviting them to challenge his viewpoints under a banner reading “Prove Me Wrong.”

It was at one such event at Utah Valley University Wednesday that he was a fatally shot. Speaking into a microphone under a tent labeled “American Comeback” – the name of his national campus tour, he was mid-sentence, answering a question about alleged trans involvement in mass shootings in America when the gun shot rang out.

Authorities say the shot was fired at a nearby building, approximately 100 to 200 yards away — or between one and two football fields in length.

Initial media reports said Kirk had been stabilized and was receiving blood at a nearby hospital. His death was announced at 2:40 p.m. by President Donald Trump, who wrote on Truth Social: “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!”

Police initially took two separate persons of interest into custody, but both of them have since been released after it was determined they had no connection to the crime. The shooter is as of this writing still at large. No identifying details have been released, and the FBI has established a tip line.

The post MSNBC Fires Analyst Matthew Dowd for Saying Charlie Kirk’s ‘Hateful Words’ Led to His Assassination appeared first on TheWrap.