{"id":16556,"date":"2025-09-13T14:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dowd-others-face-consequences-for-comments-on-kirks-death\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:37:19","slug":"dowd-others-face-consequences-for-comments-on-kirks-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dowd-others-face-consequences-for-comments-on-kirks-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Dowd, others face consequences for comments on Kirk\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Well-wishers
Well-wishers add balloons to a makeshift memorial set up at Turning Point USA headquarters after the shooting death at a Utah college on Wednesday of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of the organization Sept. 11 in Phoenix. (The Associated Press)<\/span>Ross D. Franklin<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2013 Matthew Dowd opened a floodgate.<\/p>\n

The MSNBC political analyst, who lost his job shortly after on-air comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk\u2019s assassination, was the first of many figures to face consequences on Thursday for public statements or actions about the shooting.<\/p>\n

Raw reactions to the killing have ignited a campaign to shame \u2013 and more. Several conservative activists sought to identify social media users whose posts about Kirk they viewed as offensive or celebratory. Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer said she would try to ruin the professional aspirations of anyone who celebrated Kirk\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

MSNBC said Dowd is no longer with the network after his comments, made shortly after the shooting, about \u201chateful words\u201d leading to \u201chateful actions.\u201d Both MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler and Dowd apologized for the remarks, which Kutler called \u201cinappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dowd said he didn\u2019t intend for his comments to blame Kirk for the attack. Still, it brought an abrupt interruption to his work as a television commentator, which the former aide to President George W. Bush has done for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, stands during microphone check before the start of the first day of the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (The Associated Press)<\/span>Matt Rourke<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Actions spread across country, from Mississippi to Arizona<\/div>\n

A Florida reporter was suspended for a question posed to a congressman. A comic book writer lost her job because of social media posts, as did educators in Mississippi and Tennessee. \u201cCBS Mornings\u201d host Nate Burleson was attacked for a question. An Arizona sports reporter and a Carolina Panthers public relations official also lost jobs.<\/p>\n

An anonymously registered website pledged to \u201cExpose Charlie\u2019s Murderers\u201d and asked people to offer tips about individuals who were \u201csupporting political violence online.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site published a running list on Thursday of targeted posts, along with the names, locations and employers of those who posted them. While some posts contained incendiary language, others didn\u2019t appear to celebrate the shooting or glorify violence. There were several similar efforts, including one by activist Scott Presler, who asked his followers to identify teachers who supposedly celebrated Kirk\u2019s assassination and posted findings on X.<\/p>\n

A staff member at the University of Mississippi was fired after sharing \u201cinsensitive comments\u201d about Kirk\u2019s death, according to Chancellor Glenn Boyce. The university did not identify the employee or immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The president of Middle Tennessee State University said he fired a staffer who offered \u201ccallous and inappropriate comments on social media\u201d about the assassination. President Sidney A. McPhee did not identify the staff member but said the person \u201cworked in a position of trust with our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t clear if it was the same person, but an X post by Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn identified an assistant dean of students at MTSU who posted online that she had \u201cZERO sympathy\u201d following the shooting. Blackburn said the person should be ashamed and fired.<\/p>\n

Florida issues warning to teachers<\/div>\n

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 education commissioner warned teachers that making \u201cdisgusting\u201d statements about Kirk\u2019s assassination could result in sanctions, including suspension or revocation of teaching licenses. Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said in a memo to school district superintendents that he had received reports of \u201cdespicable\u201d comments on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior,\u201d Kamoutsas said in the memo, which he also posted on X. \u201cGovern yourselves accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rush to police commentary appeared to have little precedent in other recent examples of political violence, such as the 2022 attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, or the shooting deaths earlier this year of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark.<\/p>\n

DC Comics announced it was canceling a new \u201cRed Hood\u201d series, a Batman spinoff, after one issue had been published and two more were in the works. The comics\u2019 writer, Gretchen Felker-Martin, had posted comments about Kirk\u2019s shooting online that DC called offensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cPosts or public comments that can be viewed as promoting hostility or violence are inconsistent with DC\u2019s standards of conduct,\u201d the publisher said.<\/p>\n

Loomer, whose pressure campaigns have resulted in several Trump administration firings, attacked the entertainment website TMZ for what she called a \u201cdisgusting\u201d livestream where employees could be heard laughing and cheering seconds before Kirk\u2019s death was announced. TMZ said the noise had nothing to do with the Kirk story \u2013 staff members were crowded around a computer watching a car chase \u2013 but apologized for the bad timing and how it appeared to viewers.<\/p>\n

A writer for Arizona-based PHNX Sports was fired after conservative activists highlighted a series of online posts that criticized Kirk\u2019s positions on guns and Gaza and called him evil.<\/p>\n

The NFL\u2019s Panthers distanced themselves from an employee who posted comments about Kirk and a photo referencing Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s song \u201cProtect Ya Neck.\u201d Kirk was shot in the neck. Football communications coordinator Charlie Rock was fired, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team typically doesn\u2019t announce firings.<\/p>\n

Rock\u2019s name has been removed from the team\u2019s website. He did not immediately return messages seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Football star turned CBS News anchor under attack<\/div>\n

Burleson, a former football star turned anchor for CBS News\u2019 morning show, was attacked online for asking former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the air on Thursday whether this was a moment for the Republican Party to reflect on political violence. His co-anchor, Gayle King, immediately tried to soften the question by interjecting, \u201cI\u2019d say both parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another former NFL player, Jay Feely, running for Congress in Arizona, said the question was offensive. \u201cCharlie Kirk was assassinated in front of his family and you ask if Republicans need to tone down their rhetoric?\u201d he said. (Kirk\u2019s family was not present at the shooting.) Some conservative media stars also weighed in, with talk show host Erick Erickson calling for Burleson to be fired and Clay Travis calling him a \u201cmoron.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reporter for FloridaPolitics.com was suspended for texting a Florida congressman a question about gun control immediately after Kirk\u2019s shooting. Peter Schorsch, FloridaPolitics.com publisher, said he was concerned reporter A.G. Gancarski was trying to provoke a source rather than initiate a serious policy discussion.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, texted back that he had learned of Kirk\u2019s shooting only 23 minutes earlier and was repulsed to get the question when people should be praying for Kirk\u2019s safety. Schorsch said he agreed that the timing was inappropriate, and didn\u2019t want any of his staff members to be put in danger by anyone angry about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody today should be asking questions about a wide range of policies,\u201d Schorsch said in an interview on Thursday. \u201cBut when a house is on fire, I don\u2019t think you should ask questions about a person\u2019s insurance policy. You put out the fire first.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Gancarski was a good reporter who made a mistake. He\u2019ll be back on the job after a few days out. Gancarski, reached by phone, declined comment.<\/p>\n

The feminist website Jezebel removed a post headlined \u201cWe Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk\u201d that was published Monday, two days before Kirk\u2019s death. \u201cThe piece was intended as satire and made it absolutely clear that we wished no physical harm. We stand by every word,\u201d Jezebel said in an editor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may republish at a later date, but out of compassion for the victim\u2019s family, we want to make clear that we prioritize an end to violence over anyone wanting to read about Etsy witches,\u201d Jezebel said, in a reference to the online storefront.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Rebecca Kutler and Dowd apologized<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16556"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20266,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16556\/revisions\/20266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16556"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}