Trump Orders Defunding of NPR and PBS, Escalating Assault on Free Press
DOGE (Department of Government EXTINCTION) TRACKER UPDATE
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DOGE v. The Constitution
🔴 UPDATE: May 1, 2025
The free press is under assault—and Trump just launched his boldest attack yet.
In a late-night move, Donald Trump signed an executive order to strip all federal funding from National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), accusing them of being “leftwing” and “biased.” The order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to immediately “cease direct funding” to both outlets—despite the fact that CPB is an independent nonprofit created by Congress, not a federal agency.
This is a blatant attempt to crush independent journalism and punish media that refuse to bow to Trump’s propaganda line.
Key Developments:
Trump issued an EO to defund public broadcasters: Trump signed an executive order late Thursday directing the CPB to cancel existing and future funding for NPR and PBS.
Source: Axios, ReutersTrump claimed NPR and PBS are “biased”: The EO accuses both outlets of failing to present “fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events” and claims taxpayer funding is “corrosive” to journalistic independence.
Source: The GuardianThe order may not be legal: The CPB is not a federal agency and is protected by congressional charter. Its president responded: “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.”
Source: Axios, The GuardianPBS and NPR warn of devastating impacts: Public media leaders said the EO would devastate rural stations and local news. NPR warned that “lifesaving emergency alerts and public safety information” could disappear.
Source: ReutersPart of a larger right-wing purge: The order follows weeks of attacks on PBS and NPR by GOP lawmakers and echoes the Project 2025 blueprint, which calls for zeroing out public media funding entirely.
Source: The Guardian
🔍 Why This Matters:
This is the next phase in the war on truth. Trump doesn’t want journalism—he wants loyalty. Public media is one of the last bastions of fact-based reporting accessible to rural and underserved communities. Taking it down is not just about money—it’s about silencing any voice he doesn’t control.
🚨 The Bottom Line:
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
Trump is using the power of the presidency to dismantle the First Amendment in real time. If public broadcasting can be gutted with the stroke of a pen because it doesn’t flatter the regime, no journalistic outlet is safe.
This isn’t just an attack on NPR or PBS—it’s an attack on your right to know the truth.
📌 Sources:
Axios: Trump signs order to ax federal funding for NPR and PBS
Reuters: Trump signs order that aims to cut funding to NPR, PBS
The Guardian: Trump signs executive order to cut funding for public broadcasters
Join the Fight, Amplify the Truth
Because silence is surrender. We never surrender. We are #TheRelentless.
TRUMP GETS REVENGE ON PUPPETS WHO EXPOSED HIM
Donald Trump has yanked all federal funding from PBS. The excuse? “Woke programming.” The real reason? A 30-year vendetta against Sesame Street—because the Muppets made fun of him, and they got it right.
Since the late ’80s, Sesame Street has skewered Trump with a series of Grouch parodies that now feel less like satire and more like early reporting. Grump was a trash-hoarding con man in a cheap suit, obsessed with building pointless towers, scamming communities, and inflating his self-worth. He barked orders, fired the competent, and always—always—got thrown out when people saw through the act.
Sound familiar?
That’s the storyline Trump never forgave. Because unlike his voters, the puppets didn’t fall for it.
These weren’t just puppet skits. They were damning character studies. And Trump never got over the felt-based humiliation.
So here we are. The President of the United States, in the midst of economic collapse and civil unrest, has prioritized a petty revenge mission against a children’s television network. Not because it’s dangerous. But because it told the truth—louder, earlier, and with more moral clarity than any news anchor ever dared.
This is what authoritarian fragility looks like: a president wielding state power to silence a show that hurt his feelings. Because Sesame Street committed the gravest MAGA sin—telling the truth in public.
See Seasame Street’s takedown of Trump here:
https://substack.com/@patricemersault/note/c-114158331
So basically the CPB can give him the bird. He's just blowing smoke.