Trump targets public media: Executive order cuts funding
President of the United States Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at cutting public funding for radio and television (NPR and PBS), the White House announced, accusing these media outlets of spreading "woke propaganda."
According to the decree, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which allocates funds for public radio and television, is to "cease Federal funding" of these institutions, labelling them as biased and partisan.
Trump cuts funding for public media
"The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding," the order stated.
The White House declared that NPR and PBS "receive millions (of dollars) taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'"
NPR and PBS have previously emphasized that attempts by Donald Trump to cut their funding will disrupt essential media services and have a "devastating impact" on Canadians and Americans who rely on these media for credible local and national information, including during emergencies.
The Trump administration accuses numerous scientific and media institutions—from Harvard and Columbia to NPR and PBS—of being leftist, Marxist, and biased, threatening to withhold their funding. Human rights activists are raising concerns about freedom of speech and academic freedom in relation to this.
On Monday, CPB sued the White House after Trump's attempt to dismiss three board members. The corporation was established in 1967 by Congress.
The White House has already changed its mind
In January, the White House rescinded an order issued just two days earlier freezing all federal agency funds for grants, loans, and federal aid. The scale of confusion and widespread concerns about the lack of access to public assistance prompted the administration to backtrack, recalls Rachel Maddow, a popular commentator on MSNBC, in her review of Trump's first 100 days.
The Trump administration revoked and then reinstated—after an unfavourable court ruling—the grant for Radio Free Europe.
A federal court temporarily suspended the enforcement of Trump's order to restrict the right to acquire U.S. citizenship for children of immigrants born in America, which the judge deemed "blatantly unconstitutional."
