‘Blatantly unlawful’: Furious PBS President tears into Trump, warns his funding cuts are a step toward authoritarianism

Here we go again: another midnight maneuver from the Trump playbook, and this time, the target is public broadcasting.

Trump signed an executive order directing the CPB, the nonprofit that funds public broadcasting, to stop doling out federal money to PBS and NPR. The justification? According to Trump, public media is “outdated and unnecessary” and—wait for it—”corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”

The order also claims that PBS and NPR don’t offer a “fair or unbiased portrayal of current events.” Translation: they don’t parrot talking points or sugarcoat reality to make certain politicians look good. And for the record, NPR and PBS are among the few outlets that still prioritize nuance and in-depth reporting in an era when most news has been reduced to clickbait and soundbites.

The backlash was swift. Paula Kerger didn’t hold back, calling the move an attempt to undermine public media’s mission to serve Americans with educational and cultural programming. And Patricia Harrison, CEO of CPB, reminded everyone that the CPB was explicitly designed to be independent from the federal government. Congress, not the President, controls its funding, and the law expressly forbids any federal agency from meddling in its operations. So this executive order? Legally shaky at best.

Public broadcasting serves as a lifeline for millions of Americans, particularly in rural areas where commercial media either doesn’t reach or doesn’t care to reach. PBS and NPR are often the only sources of educational programming, local news, and high-quality journalism in these communities.

Public broadcasting costs taxpayers a whopping… $1.60 per person per year. That’s less than a cup of coffee. For that price, you get shows like PBS NewsHour, Frontline, and Nature, not to mention NPR’s stellar reporting and the countless local stations they support. Compare that to the billions we pour into defense contractors or corporate subsidies, and suddenly this “cost-cutting” argument doesn’t hold water.

What’s really happening here is an assault on independent media. Public broadcasting doesn’t rely on ad revenue, which means it isn’t beholden to corporate interests. It’s one of the few places left where content is created with the public good—not profit margins—in mind. And that’s precisely why it’s being targeted. History is littered with examples of regimes that sought to control information by silencing independent voices. Whether it’s state censorship, media takeovers, or funding cuts, the goal is always the same: limit access to information that challenges the status quo.