Political commentator Matthew Dowd was the highest-profile public figure to be fired due to comments about the shooting death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was shot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10 and later died at age 31 after being rushed to a nearby hospital. The FBI identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected shooter on September 12, after President Donald Trump confirmed a suspect was in custody.

In the immediate aftermath of Kirk’s shooting, Dowd appeared on MSNBC’s live coverage and was asked by anchor Katy Tur about “the environment in which a shooting like this happens.” Dowd referenced Kirk “pushing [a] sort of hate speech” as part of his assessment of the inflamed political rhetoric leadin

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