MSNBC’s Shameful Reactions to Charlie Kirk Shooting

MSNBC, the left-leaning cable network deeply embarrassed themselves with their on-air comments immediately after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot at a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT.

The first reaction came from anchor Katy Tur who interviewed Axios’s Marc Caputo who talked about the aftermath of the shooting on our country;

“He’s a very smart guy. He is the voice of young conservatives. And I don’t know his condition—I don’t think any of us do currently—but it’s been said that assassination is the extreme form of censorship. Whether he’s actually been killed or not, we don’t know, but it certainly looks like a very politically motivated shooting. And the aftereffects of this are certainly going to be terrible.”

Tur responded that President Trump used the attack on a DOGE employee as justification to bring the National Guard into Washington, D.C. and asked Caputo if he thought something similar could occur after the Kirk shooting.

“And I know it’s hard to predict the future, Mark, but you can imagine the administration using this as a justification for something.”

Caputo responded that he couldn’t predict what happens next, but given the current political climate it probably won’t be the last time something like this happens

“And I think, going forward now, others who engage in this activity are going to have to think more closely, more intensely, about security because clearly he’s not safe, and people who are putting themselves in these political positions are not safe because there are madmen with guns out there who are willing to use them and silence the people they don’t like. It’s a horrifying thing to think about, and unfortunately it’s horrifying to think that this won’t be the last time that this happens.”

In addition to the questionable speculation about what Trump will do in response to the shooting, MSNBC political analyst made some incendiary remarks that were even too much for MSNBC to stomach.

Dowd said on MSNBC that Kirk has been “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is 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.”

“I think that’s the environment we’re in, that the 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. And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in,” he added.

MSNBC’s reaction was swift.

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

Dowd later apologized for his remarks via Bluesky

“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.”

This shocking assassination is an opportunity to reset the political conversation and not for knee-jerk reactions from either side of the political aisle as to who is to blame. We are better than that.