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President Trump has confirmed his willingness to defund left-leaning media outlets NPR and PBS.
Trump told reporters on Tuesday he would love to end taxpayer funding for the two news outlets.
When questioning President Trump on the topic, reporters noted that former Republican presidents have promised to take away the funding for these outlets, but none have done so.
“I would love to do that,” Trump said. “I think it’s very unfair, it’s been very biased…the whole group of them.”
Trump characterized the news outlets as “from a different age.” He also pointed out the inefficiency of funding these types of organizations.
Congress appropriates approximately $500 million per year for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which allocates the funds to public radio and television stations, including PBS and NPR.
“They spend more money than any other network of its type ever conceived,” Trump said. “The kind of money that’s being wasted, and it’s a very biased view. I’d be honored to see it end.”
Trump also pointed out how unnecessary the funding was, given the abundance of media coverage available.
“We’re well covered. Look at all the people we have here today…We don’t need it and it’s a waste of money,” Trump said.
“I don’t even know what DOGE’s recommendation is. I assume their recommendation is to close them up. I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t because they have found so much waste, fraud and abuse.”
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on Wednesday regarding the public broadcast companies’ use of funding and alleged bias. Republican lawmakers echoed President Trump’s viewpoint regarding the two organizations.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. James Comer, R.-Ky, questioned Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, and Paula Kerger, the President of PBS, on the lack of objectivity in reporting from the two organizations. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pointed out that the news organizations had been wrong in their coverage of major stories such as Hunter Biden’s laptop, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the alleged ties of the 2016 Trump campaign to Russia.