How bitterly angry is National Public Radio after it was defunded by President Trump and congressional Republicans? Defunding NPR equals pulling the plug on freedom of speech! Never mind that conservative expression was routinely ignored or squelched on NPR.
The headline was “How President Trump has challenged a constitutional foundation -- Here's how Trump has reshaped the country and eroded democratic norms” -- a story that required no less than 19 staffers to report out, but the byline was "NPR Staff." It began:
In his first year back in the White House, President Trump has presided over a sweeping expansion of executive power while eroding democratic norms.
Many scholars of democracy say that these moves are unprecedented in U.S. history and that Trump has pushed the United States toward authoritarianism.
The story was divided into several alleged areas of atrocity committed by the Trump Administration, including “Checks and Balances” and “Rule of Law,” with perhaps the most ridiculous the section labeled “Freedom of Speech and Expression.” It includes such non-censorious things, but apparently Trump "pushing his views" on the federal government, like rooting out DEI ideology, is authoritarian. Democrats can force that ideology into the government -- as if that's not an attempt to "control and change information" -- and Republicans can never reverse it.
Trump has targeted freedom of speech, attempting to control and change information — often with misinformation and falsehoods — to push his views into the media, higher education, national museums and the arts. He has intimidated major news outlets, defunded public media and made it increasingly difficult for journalists to report on his government, even threatening to jail reporters who won't identify government sources. The Trump administration has sought to erase parts of American history in the nation's museums, and the State Department was instructed to reject visa applications due to some applicants' alleged roles in "censorship."
Then came a set of text boxes listing various, supposedly related issues, most of which were not actually “freedom of speech” related.
The first seven items in NPR's 11-item list simply aren’t examples of the federal government squelching free speech or expression. Some are simply denying taxpayer funding to biased sources of news; banning taxpayer funding for discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion programs; denying the privilege of being educated in our country to America- and Israel-haters.
PUBLIC MEDIA ATTACKS Trump successfully pressured the Republican-led Congress to take back all $1.1 billion it had approved in subsidies for public broadcasting.
KENNEDY CENTER Trump took over the Kennedy Center, purged longtime staff and Democratic-appointed board members, installed loyalists in top leadership roles and renamed it after himself, adding his name above John F. Kennedy’s on the building — causing legal and public backlash — and major artists canceled future performances in protest of the takeover.
PRIVACY LAWS The U.S. has imposed visa bans on European individuals accused of leading “censorship” efforts against American tech companies. The EU regards these as retaliatory moves against their stricter internet regulations.
Wait a minute! The Europeans are putting people in jail for tweets they don't like, and Trump is ending "freedom of speech" by objecting?? It continued:
VISA POLICIES The Trump administration has changed U.S. visa policies as they relate to the Israel-Hamas war, considering an applicant’s views on the Palestinian cause and involvement in pro-Palestinian activism, which has led to some visa denials and revocations.
DEI In January 2025, Trump issued two executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government, leaving critics concerned over the government’s role in and commitment to civil rights. Agencies took down websites featuring the accomplishments of people of color, placed employees on leave and, eventually, closed DEI offices.
SMITHSONIAN In August 2025, the Trump administration, in an unprecedented move, ordered a sweeping review of Smithsonian Institution content. It changed exhibits and called out works addressing race, immigration and sexuality, fueling fears of political interference in the arts.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM Trump targeted academic freedom, demanding that colleges and universities conform to his views on DEI. He demanded detailed racial/gender data on admissions and froze billions of dollars in research grants that he says do not align with his policies. Multimillion-dollar settlements were reached with some that agreed to make changes.
Shoddy, biased "reporting" like this reminds us what a good thing it was for NPR to lose its taxpayer funding.
