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‘Guess I Was Naive’: Fired MSNBC Analyst Opens Up On Charlie Kirk Assassination Comments

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Fired MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd said on Friday that he was “naive” to state on national television that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk brought his assassination on himself.

MSNBC fired Dowd on Wednesday evening after he said that Kirk’s so-called “hate speech” led to his assassination, which sparked intense backlash among conservatives and mourners. The political analyst wrote in a Substack post that he did not expect people to be outraged by him bringing up that Kirk is a “divisive and polarizing figure.”

“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,” Dowd wrote. “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’. I thought to myself how could anyone disagree with this. I guess I was naive.”

Dowd alleged that MSNBC caved to the “Right Wing media mob” even though they supposedly knew his statements were being “misconstrued.” He then doubled down on his remark that the shot was perhaps someone firing a gun in celebration because Kirk was a “diehard advocate of the 2nd Amendment.”

“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 continued.

Some left-wing activists have celebrated Kirk’s assassination, including several faculty members at universities and colleges. University of Michigan assistant professor Charles H.F. Davis stated on Thursday that the assassination was a “solution” to so-called “violent rhetoric spewed by empowered people.” Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) fired its assistant dean, Laura Sosh-Lightsy, for writing on Facebook that she had “zero sympathy” for Kirk.

Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson for the assassination after his own father turned him in. Robinson confessed to his father that he murdered Kirk at Utah Valley University, promoting his father to call a youth pastor, who in turn called the U.S. Marshals, according to CBS News. He is currently in custody at a county jail and is awaiting federal charges.

Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said during a press conference that Robinson’s father noticed his son becoming “more political” and “full of hate” in recent years. Robinson had also spoken to his family the night before about Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah Valley University and about how much he disliked him.