Joy Reid trashes MSNBC over firing of Matt Dowd for saying 'true thing about Charlie Kirk'

After news broke of the shooting that day, Dowd said Kirk had been "one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this country, 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 made his comments before the network confirmed that Kirk had died. Police charged 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson with the murder.

Dowd added, "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."

"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."

Dowd was fired the same day. 

"It's that these corporations are all doing business with the administration. They all have business before the FCC [Federal Communications Commission], and therefore they are going to make their content and the journalism being done at those institutions - they're going to make it bow to the bigger corporate need."

Reid added that because of what she described as "Trump-era pressure," her friends at MSNBC now realize that Dowd "was dismissed summarily for saying a true thing about Charlie Kirk, and each of them could be, too."

Fox News Digital reached out to MSNBC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.