MSNBC News’s reporting on Charlie Kirk suffering a gunshot wound on Wednesday was met with backlash.
Katy Tur Reports was live when a gunman opened fire at Kirk and shot him in the neck, a source familiar with the shooting told the Washington Examiner. Graphic footage captured Kirk going limp upon the sound of a single gunshot and dropping the microphone he was speaking into.
“We don’t know any of the full details of this that we don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration,” MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd said. “We don’t know anything.”
OMG — MSNBC just said the shooter might have been “a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.”
WHAT?!
The Fake News is blaming MAGA already. Shameful. pic.twitter.com/BEOP3NlgFD
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 10, 2025
“Charlie Kirk is a divisive figure, polarizing, lightning rod, whatever term you want to use. Why?” Katy Tur said.
“He’s one of the MAGA’s most prominent voices online. He hosts a near-daily podcast,” Dowd said. “He opines on almost everything. He’s been very closely aligned with the president since his initial run for office in 2015, 2016. And his ties to Trump really elevated his own brand.”
“So there is quite a bit of reaction. He is a polarizing figure. He is a lightning rod,” Tur said of Kirk. “He makes some people feel very angry, but the consensus seems to be across the political spectrum that this sort of thing is awful, and it’s certainly not the way to deal with disagreement in American politics.”
MSNBC anchor and apparent psycho Kate Tur lashes out at Charlie Kirk after he was shot in the neck moments ago, calling him a “divisive figure, polarizing, lightning rod. What ever term you want to use.” pic.twitter.com/2grSfGyEzE
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) September 10, 2025
“[He is] constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech, aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd said.
The segment subsequently appeared on X, where it drew the ire of users.
“MSNBC just said Charlie could have been shot by a supporter in celebration,” reporter Adam Housley said. “What the hell is happening in and to this country. The media … and I know first hand … is a d*** disaster.”
“Everyone @MSNBC needs to be fired!” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said.
“This is absolutely disgusting,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) said of the coverage.
FBI MONITORING CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING WITH AGENTS ON THE SCENE
“A disgusting, reprehensible and predictable take from MSNBC who claims that this was just a supporter shooting a gun in the air,” former spokeswoman for the Department of Government Efficiency Katie Miller said. “These are the people whose rhetoric leads to today’s action.”
Kirk was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.