Political pundit Matthew Dowd has spoken out about his abrupt exit from MSNBC following controversial comments he made about the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

The 64-year-old consultant says he was let go by the network due to comments he made on live TV the day of Kirk's death on Sept 10. The firing was previously reported by Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. On Sept. 11, MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler issued an apology on behalf of the network where she slammed Dowd’s comments as "inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable."

In a Substack piece posted Sept. 12, Dowd addressed his exit and elaborated more on the words that prompted his removal, writing: "Wow, what a few days."

He said his controversial comment theorizing whether the incident was caused by Kirk supporter was made "before anyone knew Kirk was a target." He also said that he has repeatedly condemned gun violence in the United States across his career including in some of his nearly 1,000 MSNBC interviews.

"Keep in mind when the anchor came to me to comment on the 'national environment' the only thing known at the time was shots were fired and there was no reporting yet that Kirk was the target or had been shot at. I said in the moment that we needed to get the facts because we have no idea what this could be and that it could easily be someone firing a gun in the air to celebrate the event," Dowd wrote. "Remember Kirk is a diehard advocate of the 2nd amendment."

Dowd added that Kirk had been "a very divisive and polarizing figure" during 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."

He then attributed his firing later that day to the network reacting to the backlash from the "Right Wing media mob" who he said misconstrued his words.

"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," he wrote.

USA TODAY has reached out to MSNBC for comment.

What did Matthew Dowd say about Charlie Kirk shooting?

During the interview with MSNBC correspondent Katy Tur, Dowd theorized about if the incident could have been a Kirk supporter "shooting their gun off in celebration."

"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," Dowd said.

Dowd said Kirk had 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," Dowd said. "And I think that is the environment we are in."

Who is Matthew Dowd?

Dowd is a political commentator and former strategist for President George W. Bush's 2004 reelection campaign. He was later a longtime political contributor for ABC News and at MSNBC.

In 2021, he launched a short-lived, unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor of Texas.

Dowd joined MSNBC as a political contributor and analyst in 2022, Deadline reported.

What's next for Matthew Dowd?

Moving forward, Dowd said he is coping with the "shell shock of the past few days and will turn my gaze on adventures and the journey ahead. And a big part of that will be using my voice on this and other platforms to advocate for finding ways to unite our country around a common-sense vision of ideals and values."

"But reimagining a new America starts with new eyes, leads to a new language, and will involve building new institutions and reforming many that no longer fit us," he added. "Even though I am down and a bit disheartened in this moment, I still have hope and faith in a majority of Americans who want and hunger for the same things I do. We can do this."

Contributing: Melina Khan

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matthew Dowd speaks out after controversial MSNBC comments on Charlie Kirk shooting

Reporting by Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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