In a move that’s got Big Bird clutching his feathers, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio, warning that the publicly funded broadcasters peddle biased "woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'"

The order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cease direct and indirect funding to both organizations by June 30, 2025, and instructs federal agencies to terminate any existing grants or contracts.

The CPB, which provides roughly $500 million annually to PBS and NPR, is accused of violating its statutory impartiality mandate under 47 U.S.C. 396(f)(3).

Trump’s order argues that the modern media landscape offers diverse news options, rendering government-funded broadcasting outdated and prone to bias.

The CPB sued Trump earlier this week, alleging he overstepped his authority by firing three board members, potentially paralyzing its operations.

PBS President Paula Kerger called the defunding “blatantly unlawful" and a disruption to essential services, emphasizing PBS’s role in education and programming.

“The president’s blatantly unlawful executive order, issued, in the middle of the night, threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years,” Kerger said, according to a statement to the press. “We are currently exploring all options to aallow PBS to continue serving our member stations and all Americans.”

The White House issued a press release Friday outlining the "trash that has passed for 'news' at NPR and PBS.

"In 2021, NPR declared the Declaration of Independence to be a document with 'flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisies,'" the White House reports. "In 2022, NPR scrapped its decades-long Independence Day tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence on air to instead discuss 'equality.'

"NPR subsequently issued an “editor’s note” warning the Declaration of Independence is 'a document that contains offensive language.'"

"PBS devoted a panel to what it 'mean[s] to be woke' and 'white privilege," the White House continued. "PBS show Sesame Street partnered with CNN on a one-sided narrative to 'address racism' amid the Black Lives Matter riots."

PBS and NPR have faced accusations of anti-conservative and anti-Trump bias for years.

In 2017, NPR’s coverage of Trump’s inauguration emphasized protests over the event itself, framing Trump’s presidency as divisive.

A 2018 study by the Media Research Center found PBS NewsHour devoted 85% of its Trump-related coverage to negative stories, compared to 15% positive, a stark contrast to its balanced reporting on prior administrations.

In 2020, NPR’s reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop story was minimal, with critics, including Fox News, alleging deliberate suppression to favor Joe Biden’s campaign.

PBS faced similar scrutiny in 2021 when a NewsHour segment on critical race theory omitted conservative perspectives, prompting backlash from National Review for promoting a one-sided narrative.

The most damning incident involved PBS Principal Counsel Michael Beller, recorded by this reporter with Project Veritas in 2021.

Beller warned Trump is no different than Hitler and proposed throwing Molotov cocktails at the White House if Biden lost in 2020.

The former chief attorney for PBS also gloated over the prospect of spiking COVID cases in red states to harm Trump voters and advocated for re-education camps for Republican voters’ children.

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Beller was fired, but the incident exposed PBS’s institutional bias.

PBS exploited its iconic Sesame Street brand to promote experimental mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, particularly targeting children.

In 2021, a Sesame Street special featured Elmo and other characters receiving vaccines, with Big Bird tweeting, “I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost.”

The campaign, funded partly by federal grants, used beloved characters to normalize unapproved vaccines for young children, who faced low COVID risk.

In 2022, PBS partnered with the CDC to produce vaccine PSAs featuring Sesame Street Muppets, which Senator Ted Cruz called “government propaganda” aimed at kids.

These efforts coincided with PBS receiving $20 million in federal COVID relief funds, raising questions about whether taxpayer money was used to push contested medical interventions.
And so, the curtain falls on PBS and NPR’s taxpayer-funded farce.

For too long, they’ve cloaked their bias in Sesame Street’s fuzzy veneer and NPR’s soothing tones, peddling narratives that sneer at half the country.

Trump’s executive order isn’t just a budget cut—it’s a middle finger to elitist media that thought they could gaslight Americans forever.

Will they survive on private donations? Maybe. But without our wallets propping them up, they’ll have to face the free market like the rest of us. Good luck, Elmo — you’re gonna need it.