During the live news coverage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, many political figures issued statements of prayer and condolence for the atrocious killing of the beloved conservative leader. However, some people broke away from delivering a compassionate message.

MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd was fired following his “insensitive” comments during the live coverage of the Charlie Kirk shooting, Variety first reported.

‘Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.’

According to Variety, MSNBC anchor Katy Tur asked Dowd about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.”

Responding to the question, Dowd said, “He’s 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.

RELATED: Charlie Kirk: Loving father, fearless communicator, happy warrior — 1993-2025

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

These comments outraged viewers and internet users, leading to a decision by MSNBC to fire him.

“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,” MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said in an MSNBC PR post on X in response.

Dowd issued an apology on Bluesky on Wednesday afternoon, prior to the first reports of his firing.

“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.”

Prayer vigils were held across the country Wednesday night to mourn Charlie Kirk’s passing and celebrate his impact on the conservative movement.

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The New York Yankees honored Charlie Kirk before their game on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old political commentator was murdered at a university event in Utah, leaving behind his wife, Erika, and two children.

‘I love the Yankees more than ever right now for this.’

Minutes before their game against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees’ scoreboard lit up with Kirk’s face and the message, “Remembering Charlie Kirk.”

Just before 7 p.m. local time — five minutes before their usual start time — the Yankees also posted a message on their X page with a picture of the stadium’s massive screen that showed the patriotic American.

“Before tonight’s game we held a moment of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk,” the message read. “Kirk founded the youth activist group ‘Turning Point USA’ and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old.”

RELATED: Charlie Kirk: Loving father, fearless communicator, happy warrior — 1993-2025

Fans were overwhelmingly pleased with the somewhat surprising gesture by the Yankees organization.

“I love the Yankees more than ever right now for this,” one fan wrote on X.

“Massive respect for doing this,” another fan said in response to the Yankees’ post.

Another added, “Thank you. Charlie Kirk is a national hero.”

Gary Sheffield Jr., who hosts a popular Yankees podcast, told Blaze News he was shocked at the team’s gesture but that he agreed with it “100%”

Sheffield continued, “But where are the other 29 teams?” referring to the fact that only the Yankees appeared to share condolences for Kirk.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers want to be outspoken when it fits their niche community. How about a voice now in the face of hate and violence for the rest of the country?” the broadcaster added.

Sheffield cited different activist events previously held at Dodger Stadium, which included an anti-Catholic sex group for a Pride night celebration.

The baseball analyst shared a similar sentiment on X, where he stated, “Something is seriously wrong with the political discourse in this country.”

RELATED: Witnesses say ‘there was not enough security’ prior to horrific Charlie Kirk assassination

The Yankees are set to host President Donald Trump on Thursday to honor the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001. In advance of Trump’s visit, the club announced tightened security measures.

The Yankees lost 11-1 to the Tigers on Wednesday; the Tigers are also the opponent for Thursday’s game.

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Democrats and the liberal media spent years characterizing President Donald Trump as a would-be dictator, a Nazi, a threat to democracy, and a danger to minorities. This demonization campaign set the stage for at least two known attempted assassinations.

In advance of his alleged Sept. 15, 2024, attempt on Trump’s life, Ryan Routh even parroted word for word some of the alarmist rhetoric pushed by the president’s liberal critics.

‘This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country.’

Trump’s good friend, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, was similarly long the subject of a liberal demonization campaign.

On Wednesday, the loving husband and father of two was assassinated in broad daylight in front of a massive crowd at Utah Valley University.

“It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” President Donald Trump said in a video statement after Kirk’s death.

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” continued Trump. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today — and it must stop right now.”

— (@)

Following Kirk’s assassination, the New York Times released an obituary titled “Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Provocateur and Close Ally of Trump, Dies at 31.”

While an earlier version was relatively benign and largely stuck to the facts, the obituary was expanded over the course of several hours to include numerous critical elements, some reminiscent of a smear report published by the Southern Poverty Law Center in May.

‘They’d love nothing more than to see TPUSA in the crosshairs.’

The obituary not only accused Kirk of spreading “unsupported claims and outright lies” and attacked him for “embracing the false right-wing narrative that Mr. Trump had actually won the White House in his race against Joseph R. Biden Jr.,” but suggested that the deceased had added “an antisemitic twist” to the “popular far-right idea that immigrants will soon displace white Americans.”

RELATED: If ‘words are violence,’ why won’t the left own theirs?

White House photo

The Times made sure to suggest that Kirk amplified the left’s go-to bogeyman of 2024, “Christian nationalism,” and claimed he “continued to provoke,” citing as an example his willingness to question the popular hagiographies for George Floyd and Martin Luther King Jr.

Whereas the Times toned down its insinuations about the assassinated conservative’s imagined bigotry in light of the circumstances, it nevertheless drew on a nasty narrative constructed over time by liberal critics of Kirk and his organization.

One of the most inflammatory publications bolstering this false narrative was the SPLC’s May 22 “Year in Hate and Extremism 2024” report, which contained a lengthy section titled “Turing Point USA: A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”

The SPLC report stated that Kirk’s organization was “emblematic” of the American political right’s supposed embrace of “aggressive state and federal power to enforce a social order rooted in white supremacy” against a backdrop of “patriarchal Christian supremacy dedicated to eroding the value of inclusive democracy and public institutions.”

It further suggested that Kirk’s organization was advancing a “narrow vision” that fights for “white, male, Christian dominance in America” and results in the demonization of nonconforming men, women, and “nonbinary people.”

In addition to noting — as the Times did Wednesday in its obituary — that Kirk criticized Martin Luther King Jr., claiming he did so to “discredit civil rights legislation,” the SPLC suggested that Kirk framed Christianity as superior and Christians as persecuted to justify TPUSA’s “extreme, authoritarian vision for the country that threatens the foundation of our democracy.”

RELATED: Charlie Kirk: Loving father, fearless communicator, happy warrior — 1993-2025

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The section on Kirk and TPUSA concludes with, “Turning Point USA’s effort to sow fear and division to enforce social hierarchies rooted in supremacism is emblematic of the hard right’s broader political project to destroy our foundational democratic principles and institutions.”

Kirk responded to the hit piece on May 25, stating, “The SPLC has added Turning Point to their ridiculous ‘hate group’ list, right next to the KKK and neo-Nazis, a cheap smear from a washed-up org that’s been fleecing scared grandmas for decades.”

“Their game plan? Scare financial institutions into debanking us, pressure schools to cancel us, and demonize us so some unhinged lunatic feels justified targeting us,” continued Kirk. “Remember the Family Research Council? An SPLC-inspired gunman went after them. They’d love nothing more than to see TPUSA in the crosshairs.”

Even after Kirk called it out, the SPLC kept smearing the patriot.

The day before Kirk’s assassination, the SPLC listed Kirk in its September “Hatewatch” report.

Blaze News has reached out to the White House and to the SPLC for comment.

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