John,
In the nearly three weeks since Donald Trump arrived at White House, his chair of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) Elon Musk has proposed nearly $2 trillion in spending cuts.
Not only is this proposal unrealistic, but it also has dangerous consequences, considering it would call for the elimination of nearly a third of the entire federal budget.
Now, Musk has turned his attention to public broadcasting, suggesting slashing the entire $535 million budget allocated to organizations like NPR and PBS.
While that may seem like a large number, to put this into perspective, Elon bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion — a figure that could fund 80 years of public broadcasting.
Public broadcasting provides a vital unbiased perspective at a time when we’ve seen corporate news outlets like ABC News and The Washington Post yield to Trump by agreeing to phony legal settlements and self-censorship.
But this isn't a done deal yet, John. If we're going to protect public media, we'll need your help. Demand Congress keep NPR and PBS's funding intact by sending a letter today.
You might be asking yourself, why?
Musk has repeatedly said, “legacy media must die” — a common talking point on the far-right. Musk’s crusade against the free press is just one part of a much larger scheme to upend our rights and democracy as we know it.
The work of PBS and NPR goes far beyond good journalism — NPR and PBS support community based stations in rural areas across the country that produce local news, educational programs, and provide infrastructure for vital emergency alerts.
All of this could be in jeopardy if Musk gets his way.
While federal funding for public media has been threatened before, the current level of hostility from Trump and Musk have made it clear that this attempt to gut public broadcasting may very well succeed.
The entire budget for PBS and NPR could easily be covered by reducing the Pentagon’s budget or simply increasing taxes on billionaires. Unsurprisingly, these options aren’t being considered.
Instead, Musk and Trump are putting NPR and PBS on the chopping block as a part of their larger plan to suppress the indispensable role of a free and fair press in our democracy.
But we're not powerless, John. You have the chance to make your voice heard and stand up for our communities and democracy.
Thank you for taking action! More to come on this.
In solidarity,
LeftNet
