Trump defunds NPR, PBS

The Trump administration has cut off funding for NPR and PBS, including children’s programming that the Department of Education has called “woke” and “divisive.”

President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order last week to “cease federal funding” for the far-Left outlets, saying that “neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”

“At the very least, Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news coverage,” the order said. “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies, and the Government is entitled to determine which categories of activities to subsidize.”

In April, the White House published examples of “the trash that passes for ‘news’ at NPR and PBS.” The list included an NPR Valentine’s Day feature last year on “queer animals,” as well as a PBS documentary advocating for slavery reparations. In 2023, PBS pushed the hoax that Joe Biden was mentally “acute” despite the obvious truth. In 2021, the outlet aired a children’s program to “inspire” children that featured a drag queen who called himself “Lil’ Miss Hot Mess.” That same year, NPR published an article criticizing “healthism, which is this idea that we have to be healthy.” Healthism fosters “fatphobia,” the outlet claimed, which is also to blame for doorways and seatbelts. NPR has argued that “animals deserve pronouns, too” and that “‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom.” PBS, which produces “Sesame Street,” has used the children’s show to promote vaccines, gender ideology, and racial division, which includes negative perceptions of White Americans. In 2017, PBS produced a film called “Real Boy” about a girl who identifies as transgender. 

“For years, Americans have been on the hook for subsidizing NPR and PBS as they spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news,’” the White House said.

DOE cancels propaganda for children

The day after Trump’s Executive Order, the Department of Education terminated a $23 million grant to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports NPR and PBS. The grant funded CPB’s Ready to Learn program, which for decades has provided funding for children’s programming like “Sesame Street.”

Education Department spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said the Ready to Learn program was being used for “racial justice educational programming.”

“The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda,” Biedermann said.

Sen. Cruz: ‘Time for some accountability’

Conservatives are celebrating the long-awaited termination of funding for NPR and PBS. On Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) lauded Trump’s decision while slamming the outlets for their woke programming, including a documentary called “Racist Trees.”

“The Communications Act requires public media entities, like NPR, to strictly adhere to ‘objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs on a controversial nature,’” Cruz said. “Unfortunately, NPR does not. Last Congress, I put out a detailed report how NPR took millions in earmarked donations from left-wing mega-donors for very specific coverage.”

“After receiving those donations, NPR churned out content precisely mirroring its donors’ agendas,” he continued. “Likewise, the Congressionally-chartered independent television service, paid for documentaries like, ‘Racist Trees’ to appear on PBS. NPR CEO Katherine Maher continues to deny that NPR has a serious story selection problem, even when senior editors are resigning because the bias is so overwhelming.”

Cruz noted that Maher has previously advocated for reparations to Black Americans and that NPR still maintains dedicated news desks for climate change and race.

“I think it’s more than time for some accountability,” Cruz said.