Introducing the President Trump bombshell. Almost everyone is talking about it, the brand-new executive order from his office which cuts off taxpayer funding for the two-decade-old mega public broadcasting networks–NPR and PBS. Breaking this news into the Twittersphere is Benny Johnson, and let’s just say his reply is WILD.
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What does that mean? Yup. Pretty much no more federal bucks for these outlets coming from the order by Trump. The supporters-those who needed this-kind of relish the moment while critics are going nuts. With a few minutes, the tweet was collecting several thousand interactions, which is an evident mark for one of those moments when things go political hot.
The comments tell their story. Rick: “About time. They are full commie!” Kahton seemed a little more charged: “FINALLY! No more forced taxpayer funding for leftist propaganda machines.” Oof. That’s the vibe around here. The opposing side was told by Charlie: “Another Deplorable act from a horrible team.”
Among the highlights, one goes to Dabagdy, who said to his critics, “You spelled Fox News wrong” after someone said there was bias, while another person was hitting with merciless blows saying, “Sigh… government leaders spend money as they wish. Sorry for your tribe lost” by Moe Menace. Cold-blooded.
But what’s really interesting people is how much they’re hurling about propaganda. From the get-go, Herbert S. Wagner says: “Cut the anti-propaganda off.” William Pittman says: “Hate hit pieces all day everyday pretending to care” referring to NPR/PBS. Between these two are others, too, like Joey America; he sees one “some judge in rural Idaho” blocking the order as already predicting future legal battles.
They say timing can be everything. With the rise of heat up in the election season, seems calculated to galvanize Trump’s base while wasting no time upon media outlets he chastises at every possible opportunity. What one is sure is, when it comes to this executive order, be it for love or hate, it is sure going to send huge ripples in the water. It is going to be interesting to see how public broadcasting, which has for so many years been supported by federal dollars, is going to change.
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Of course, this is a budget issue but, again, there is more to it than that. This is a piece in a much larger culture war too-Media Bias-and who gets to write the narrative. The crazy reactions show that this hits a nerve on both sides. The swamp is being drained in some people’s eyes, while the others see it as an assault on independent journalism. Buckle your seatbelts because this story is really just beginning.
