National Security Advisor Mike Waltz tweeted his support of the move to defund PBS on Friday over a Thursday News Hour segment that saw the network platform Houthi terrorist and self-styled Foreign Minister Jamal Amer. While none of correspondent Nick Schifrin’s questions were bad, he didn’t provide any pushback either.
Schfrin’s interview was supplemented with slow and solemn B-roll, and he started by recalling that, “In the Red Sea once again, the U.S. Navy is at war. For six days, the U.S. has launched dozens of strikes and sorties attacking Houthi targets in Yemen, including for the first time Houthi leadership.”
Insane taxpayer-funded PBS is allowing a terrorist Houthi leader a global platform as they attack our service members! UnAmerican & unacceptable.
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) March 21, 2025
DEFUND! https://t.co/yo9CitYQrB
Through an interpreter, Amer declared, “At the end of the day, we are at war with America. And, of course, there will be casualties. But these casualties do not include senior leadership.”
Schfrin the narrator, then introduced his interviewee, “Jamal Amer is the Houthi foreign minister. We spoke to him from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sanaa.”
Amer added, “Civilians in Sanaa were bombed because the capital was targeted.”
Schifrin’s pushback came during his voiceovers, not his questions, “Houthi authorities say the strikes have wounded or killed dozens, including children. The U.S. denies any civilian casualties and instead blames the Houthis for bringing it on themselves. Beginning in November 2023, Houthi rebels targeted, seized commercial vessels, and kidnapped and killed foreign sailors. The Houthis claimed to target ships linked to Israel in solidarity with Gaza, but their targets were much wider. During the Gaza ceasefire, they paused their attacks on ships. But when Israel blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, the Houthis vowed to respond.”
Schifrin later told the audience, “The U.S. and U.N. say Iran provides the Houthis parts for its advanced missiles, as well as funding, training and intelligence, something the Houthis in Iran deny,” before asking Amer, “Has Iran asked you to restrain your response to the U.S. strikes?”
Amer then portrayed his colleagues as Yemen’s legitimate government, “Iran doesn't direct Yemen. Yemen is a sovereign state, and we do not accept directives from anyone.”
Throughout the rest of the interview, the duo would discuss the Houthi’s antagonism towards Yemen’s actual government, Saudi Arabia, the U.N., and the World Food Program. While PBS interviews literal terrorists and enemies of the United States, a November 2022-February 2023 NewsBusters study found they interview one conservative for roughly every four liberals and a June-November 2024 study found that PBS uses variations of “far-right” 27 times more often than “far-left.”
Sign the petition to help us defund ruthlessly tactical PBS and NPR at defundpbsnpr.org.
Here is a transcript for the March 20 show:
PBS News Hour
3/20/2025
7:40 PM ET
NICK SCHIFRIN: In the Red Sea once again, the U.S. Navy is at war. For six days, the U.S. has launched dozens of strikes and sorties attacking Houthi targets in Yemen, including for the first time Houthi leadership.
JAMAL AMER (VIA INTERPRETER): At the end of the day, we are at war with America. And, of course, there will be casualties. But these casualties do not include senior leadership.
SCHIFRIN: Jamal Amer is the Houthi foreign minister. We spoke to him from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
AMER: Civilians in Sanaa were bombed because the capital was targeted.
SCHIFRIN: Houthi authorities say the strikes have wounded or killed dozens, including children. The U.S. denies any civilian casualties and instead blames the Houthis for bringing it on themselves. Beginning in November 2023, Houthi rebels targeted, seized commercial vessels, and kidnapped and killed foreign sailors. The Houthis claimed to target ships linked to Israel in solidarity with Gaza, but their targets were much wider. During the Gaza ceasefire, they paused their attacks on ships. But when Israel blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, the Houthis vowed to respond. And, last Saturday, President Trump ordered the new strikes that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told Fox News will continue until the Houthis stop.
PETE HEGSETH: This will continue until you say, we're done shooting at ships, we're done shooting at assets.
SCHIFRIN: Will you stop your targeting of Navy ships and commercial ships?
JAMAL AMER (VIA INTERPRETER): When the siege on Gaza ends, the tension in the Red Sea will end. Therefore, when Gaza receives aid and Israel implements the agreement, everything will end.
…
SCHIFRIN: The U.S. and U.N. say Iran provides the Houthis parts for its advanced missiles, as well as funding, training and intelligence, something the Houthis in Iran deny.
Has Iran asked you to restrain your response to the U.S. strikes?
AMER: Iran doesn't direct Yemen. Yemen is a sovereign state, and we do not accept directives from anyone.
SCHIFRIN: Iran has had its strategic air defense removed by Israel. Hezbollah has had its leaders killed and its political influence in Lebanon diminished. And Hamas itself has had its leaders killed and its military capacity severely diminished.
Do you acknowledge that the so-called Axis of Resistance is at its weakest point in years?
AMER: We are not entirely dependent on our allies. We merely help our allies. So this is a Yemeni decision, allies or not.
SCHIFRIN: The Houthis run a de facto government that oversees most of Yemen's population. Their critics say they govern not for the people, but for themselves, and collect taxes to wage war, despite claims they want peace.
You bombed government ports. You have refused to recognize the U.N.-backed government. Until you take that step of recognition, how can anyone take seriously your claim that you want peace?
AMER: The so-called legitimate government is a byproduct of Saudi Arabia, of course. So we have never spoken to them. There's always been dialogue and discussion with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SCHIFRIN: But over the last year, the Houthis have arrested dozens of U.N. workers. One World Food Program employee died in Houthi custody.
Why do you keep detaining U.N. staff? Many of these people have spent their lives trying to help others, doing humanitarian work.
AMER: Only 23 of the 2,000 Yemeni employees working with international organizations were detained. Therefore, we confirm that our government will work on strengthening relations with the United Nations.
SCHIFRIN: But the U.S. military says the Houthis seized food from a World Food Program storage depot in Saada. Why are you doing this when that food is designed for the Yemeni people?
AMER: The food that belongs to the civilians is only taken when there were attacks on Sanaa and the warehouse was threatened. So we took the food and distributed it to people in need.
SCHIFRIN: And they are in need. Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and now faces a new round of violence that the U.S. hopes can succeed where previous efforts failed to silence the Houthis.
