MSNBC Issues Apology For Political Analyst Who Blamed Charlie Kirk For Getting Shot — Didn’t Bother To Read It On Air

MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler issued a statement Wednesday on X condemning political analyst Matthew Dowd’s “unacceptable” comments about Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination, but did not read it on air.

During coverage of the attack against Kirk, Dowd suggested that Kirk’s “pushing” of “hate speech” toward certain groups made him an inevitable target. As of Wednesday evening, a review of two live TV transcription services showed that MSNBC did not read the apology posted to its public relations account.

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

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During a segment of MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports,” Dowd said Kirk had been “one of the most divisive” conservative figures, claiming he was “constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups.”

“And I always go back to: hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said. “And I think that’s the environment we’re in. People just, 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.”

Kirk, 31, had been speaking with students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he