In a bold move, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on May 1, 2025, to eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), accusing them of spreading biased, “left-wing propaganda.” Titled “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,” the order targets the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which channels taxpayer funds to public media. This decision has sparked a fierce debate over media independence, public funding, and the role of NPR and PBS in American communities. The Gateway Pundit first reported the development, citing allegations of NPR and PBS promoting radical content.
[](https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/breaking-president-trump-signs-executive-order-defunding-npr/)The Executive Order: A Sweeping Directive
Trump’s executive order instructs the CPB to cease both direct and indirect funding to NPR and PBS, effective immediately, and to revise its 2025 grant provisions by June 30, 2025, to prohibit such funding. The White House argues that in today’s diverse media landscape, government-funded news is “outdated and unnecessary,” undermining journalistic independence. The order also mandates the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate NPR and PBS for potential employment discrimination violations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
[](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/ending-taxpayer-subsidization-of-biased-media/)The administration claims NPR and PBS violate the CPB’s impartiality principles, which prohibit supporting political parties. The New York Times reported that Trump accused the broadcasters of producing “left-wing propaganda,” citing coverage of COVID-19 and Hunter Biden as examples. The order follows a White House memo sent to Congress on April 28, 2025, requesting a $1.1 billion rescission of CPB funds, which would cover two years of public media funding.
[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/us/politics/trump-funding-npr-pbs.html)[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/business/media/trump-npr-pbs-funding.html)
Allegations of Bias and Content Controversies
The Trump administration and GOP allies, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have long criticized NPR and PBS for alleged liberal bias. A March 2025 House Oversight DOGE subcommittee hearing scrutinized NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger over content like a PBS documentary on “Racist Trees” and a New York PBS station’s online video featuring a drag performer, which Kerger clarified never aired on television. AP News noted Greene’s call to “hate us on your own dime.”
[](https://apnews.com/article/doge-pbs-npr-elon-trump-musk-99a40be6cbbe8932047afe371f91fdc5)The Gateway Pundit highlighted NPR’s recent report, citing anonymous sources, claiming two DOGE workers accessed classified nuclear secrets, which the Department of Energy debunked as false. Such incidents fuel the administration’s narrative of NPR and PBS pushing “fake news.” However, NPR and PBS maintain their coverage is nonpartisan, with Maher emphasizing their mission to serve all Americans, including those in news deserts. NPR reported that 43% of Americans support continued federal funding, per Pew Research, though 24% favor cuts.
[](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384790/trump-orders-end-to-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs)[](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/pbs-ceo-weighs-in-on-the-potential-impact-of-cutting-public-media-funding)Impact on Public Media
NPR receives about 1% of its budget directly from the federal government, with member stations getting 8–10% via CPB grants, while PBS relies on CPB for roughly 15% of its funding. Forbes noted that rural stations, often in Republican strongholds, depend heavily on these funds. Ed Ulman, CEO of Alaska Public Media, warned that without CPB support, local stories from places like Alaska would vanish from national platforms like PBS News Hour.
[](https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2025/03/27/will-trump-defund-npr-and-pbs-heres-what-we-know-as-president-attacks-the-broadcasters/)[](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5352827/npr-pbs-public-media-trump-rescission-funding)Kerger told PBS News that defunding would devastate smaller stations, particularly in rural areas, and weaken the emergency alert system, which relies on public media’s broadcast infrastructure. A 2011 NPR contingency plan, revealed by The New York Times, estimated that a funding cutoff could close 18% of member stations, primarily in the Midwest, South, and West.
[](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/pbs-ceo-weighs-in-on-the-potential-impact-of-cutting-public-media-funding)[](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/briefing/public-broadcasters-republicans-npr-pbs.html)Opposition and Legal Challenges
The CPB, funded through September 2027, sued Trump on May 2, 2025, arguing he lacks authority to remove three of its five board members, a move tied to the defunding push. NPR reported that the CPB’s two-year funding cycle is designed to insulate it from political pressures, raising questions about the order’s immediate impact. Democrats, including Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, criticized the cuts as targeting a “tiny 0.01%” of the federal budget while favoring tax breaks for billionaires.
[](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384790/trump-orders-end-to-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs)[](https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-legislators-support-public-media-funding-pbs-npr/)🚨 BREAKING: @POTUS just signed an executive order ENDING the taxpayer subsidization of NPR and PBS — which receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as “news.”
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 2, 2025
Here is the text of the order:
By the authority vested in me as President by the…
Posts on X, such as from @Osint613, celebrated the order as ending “corrosive” funding, while @RBReich referenced Mr. Rogers’ 1969 defense of public media to Congress. The Guardian noted that NPR serves 40 million weekly listeners and PBS reaches 36 million monthly viewers, underscoring their cultural significance.
[](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/02/trump-signs-executive-order-to-cut-funding-for-public-broadcasters)A Broader Context: Media Under Scrutiny
Trump’s order aligns with broader efforts to challenge media, including an FCC investigation into NPR and PBS underwriting practices and legal battles with outlets like The Associated Press. NPR reported that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is probing whether corporate sponsorships violate bans on commercial ads. Critics like Jim Schachter of New Hampshire Public Radio argue that defunding is less about budget savings—CPB’s $535 million is a fraction of federal spending—than controlling information.
[](https://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/nx-s1-5281162/fcc-npr-pbs-investigation)[](https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/media/pbs-npr-funding-fight/index.html)The conservative Project 2025 blueprint, cited by The Guardian, advocates eliminating CPB funding, a goal echoed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency. Yet, public media’s defenders, including Maher, argue that its 50-state network ensures coverage in areas commercial media overlook, a mission rooted in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
[](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/28/trump-npr-pbs-funding-cut)[](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366040/npr-federal-funding-katherine-maher)Critical Perspective: Bias or Public Service?
While Trump’s order frames NPR and PBS as partisan, independent analyses, like those cited by PBS News, rank them among America’s most trusted news sources, with audiences spanning the political spectrum. Allegations of “woke” content often focus on isolated cases, like the drag video, which was not nationally broadcast. Conversely, the administration’s examples of bias, such as NPR’s debunked DOGE report, highlight the risks of rushed reporting, a challenge not unique to public media. The order’s DEI scrutiny may also reflect broader cultural battles rather than substantive legal violations.
[](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-look-at-the-trump-administrations-efforts-to-slash-public-media-funding)Defunding could disproportionately harm rural communities, contradicting the administration’s voter base, while doing little to address the federal budget. The debate hinges on whether public media serves as a vital civic resource or an outdated subsidy in a crowded media market. As legal challenges mount, the outcome will shape the future of independent journalism in America.
Author: Planet-Today.com
Source: The Gateway Pundit