As conservatives and Republicans pressed NPR and PBS on their dramatic anti-Trump tilt, CNN played exactly the same card the congressional Democrats play: changing the subject to PBS children's shows.
On Thursday, CNN exploited the memory of beloved Mister Rogers as a shameless plug for the taxpayer-subsidized left-wing propaganda machines.
Host Omar Jimenez opened up by quoting a post from Trump in which he called for the immediate defunding of the two platforms, calling them “horrible and completely biased.” He then turned to a video clip from 1969 where Fred Rogers, who for decades hosted Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, testified before Congress in support of PBS. For countless people who had seen Mister Rogers’ show as children, the clip definitely would have pulled some heartstrings, but Jimenez completely ignored the fact that a lot had changed between 1969 and 2025.
Jimenez then introduced the nephew of Mister Rogers -- Daniel Crozier, a music professor at Rollins College. Jimenez asked Crozier, of his uncle’s testimony, “what does it mean to you now hearing that?”
“It’s all the same today as it was then,” Crozier responded:
[W]e wish he were here now. Because, he was able to defend… funding for PBS, passionately and compellingly. The senator in charge of that hearing, who was very clearly a skeptic at the beginning, was nearly in tears by the end of Fred's address.
Crozier, too, completely overlooked the fact that things were very different in 1969, neglecting to note, for instance, that the “skeptical” senator, John Pastore of Rhode Island, was in fact a liberal Democrat, which did not align with the conflict over PBS in 2025. In fact, the Mister Rogers show had ended in 2001, and he had passed away in 2003, so the whole discussion was irrelevant...except as heart-tugging talking points.
That didn’t seem to matter, though. Jimenez threw this softball:
[A] lot of congressional Republicans… were attacking PBS — and NPR… Congressman James Comer, for example, calling public broadcasters obsolete in an age marked by a menu of media options. What do you see as the role of public broadcasting in — in today's environment?
The implication seemed to be that nothing but crass economic considerations were fueling the move to defund the two platforms, when the reality was that many conservatives had long called for the two to be discontinued because they were notoriously outrageously biased, and little more than a publicly-funded wing of the regular liberal media.
Crozier’s response was soaked in emotion:
PBS has things of such value, but which are not necessarily going to guarantee commercial success. But that doesn't mean they aren't essential… [A]nd Fred saw this. He thought… PBS offered a space for the best we could possibly give children, and he was… of the belief that we have to give them the very best we have… His legacy is alive and well, and it's part of all of our mission [sic.] to keep it alive and well… [T]his was a national platform… for him it was a tool to develop the affective side of education for children, communicating with each individual child, dealing with feelings, emotions, trying to build empathy and emotional intelligence… making every child feel valued, knowing they're loved and capable of loving… [W]e might lose that, and what would that do to our society?
Crozier failed to mention that PBS spent a lot of time, and taxpayer money, promoting things that had nothing to do with love and empathy, and a lot to do with divisive, polarizing pet causes of the left.
He also ignored the fact that, in the 24 years since his uncle’s show had ended, the rise of things like YouTube had ensured that Mister Rogers’ legacy was not in danger of becoming inaccessible, whatever happened to the far-left propaganda mills dressed up as neutral government programs that he was shamelessly using his late uncle’s name to defend.
To view the full transcript, click "expand" to read
CNN News Central
03/27/2025
1:50 PM
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: TRUMP SAYS CONGRESS SHOULD DEFUND NPR AND PBS “IMMEDIATELY”]
OMAR JIMENEZ: Today, a new demand in President Trump's fight against the nation's top public broadcasters. Trump posting, “NPR and PBS, two horrible and completely biased platforms… should be DEFUNDED by Congress, IMMEDIATELY!” Now, those words come hours after the heads of PBS and NPR faced a grilling on Capitol Hill. PBS, of course, home to the beloved Mister Rogers who, back in the 1960s had this message to senators, as he fought for funding.
FRED ROGERS [in 05/01/69]: I end the program by saying, you've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are. And I feel that if we in public television can only make it clear that feelings are mentionable and manageable, we will have done a great service.
JIMENEZ: With me now is the nephew of Mr. Rogers, Daniel Crozier. He is a music professor at Rollins College. Listening to that message, I wonder, what does it mean to you now hearing that?
DANIEL CROZIER, FRED ROGERS’S NEPHEW: It's all the same today as it was then. You know, we wish he were here now because, he was able to defend PBS, and funding for PBS, passionately and compellingly. The senator in charge of that hearing, who was very clearly a skeptic at the beginning, was nearly in tears by the end of Fred's address.
JIMENEZ: Hm. I mean, look, I don't have to tell you, in the modern day version of this hearing, there were a lot of congressional Republicans who were attacking PBS — and NPR — over the course of the hearing. Congressman James Comer, for example, calling public broadcasters obsolete in an age marked by a menu of media options. What do you see as the role of public broadcasting in — in today's environment?
CROZIER: Well, PBS has things of such value, but which are not necessarily going to guarantee commercial success. But that doesn't mean they aren't essential now, as they were then. Education, the arts— you know — children's programming and Fred saw this. He thought that — you know — PBS offered a space for the best we could possibly give children, and he was always at the — of the belief that we have to give them the very best we have-
JIMENEZ: What is your —
CROZIER: — and with a commercial TV platform, it's possible, you know.
JIMENEZ: — yeah, yeah. I didn't mean to interrupt, but I was just going to ask, what is your biggest concern, if networks like PBS or NPR don't exist anymore? What does that network mean to your family, and even your uncle's legacy?
CROZIER: His legacy is alive and well, and it's part of all of our mission [sic.] to keep it alive and well. And we try to do it in our own spheres of influence. But — this was a national platform — you know — for him it was a tool to develop the affective side of education for children, communicating with each individual child, dealing with feelings, emotions, trying to build empathy and emotional intelligence. You know, above all, making every child feel valued, knowing they're loved and capable of loving and we might lose that, and what would that do to our society?
JIMENEZ: President Trump says he wants to defund, but at the same time, the funding bill passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump earlier this month included $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is the entity that disburses the funds to 1,500 local radio and TV stations. Where do you see this fight going next? Even — even though money clearly went out, this time, do you see this as over? Just — where do you see this going?
CROZIER: It's my hope, and my belief, that people will see the value here. I think they're going to realize we can't live without it. And our — our children need it. And our society needs it —
JIMENEZ: You know —
CROZIER: — absolutely.
JIMENEZ: — you work in education and — music education — if I'm not mistaken, I was told that that's the original Mr. Rogers piano behind you- you correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you're one of the people that, sort of, sees the value in education. And, of course, you have this part of your family legacy, as well. I just wonder, for you, as someone who teaches people and who has also benefited from what has been taught on television, how has that benefited your life today?
CROZIER: It shaped the way I — I communicate with my own students. I'm so fortunate to sit in this room with my students at Rollins College, every day, and play this piano, that was Uncle Fred's first grand piano growing up. It's — it's so fortunate, and it's the way we interact. He said, we have the choice to act with love or without it and — this is part of that, I think — this whole discussion.
JIMENEZ: Well, Dan, I like you just the way you are. Thanks for being on the show tonight — or today — I don't even know what time it is, at this point. You can play us out if you want, but — I just like looking at that piano. It's really cool, and reminds me, I think — of the legacy.
CROZIER: Uh —
JIMENEZ: Yeah. Hey, I'm not going to stop you, if you're going to go for it, I'm not going to stop you.
[LAUGHTER]
CROZIER: — thank you for inviting me to your neighborhood.
[PLAYS MISTER ROGERS THEME SONG]
