After a heated exchange between Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and journalist Mary Louise Kelly, President Donald Trump questioned the existence of the National Public Radio, colloquially known as NPR, on Twitter. In a similar manner to previous outbursts, Trump attempted to take out his personal grievances on public policy. In this year’s annual budget request, he recommended completely cutting funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 2023.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is responsible for distributing federal funds to NPR and other public media outlets. Had Trump’s request been taken seriously, there would be a meaningful loss of local journalism — particularly in rural areas. Fortunately, his past budget proposals haven’t strongly influenced how much funding public media has received. Congress ultimately decided on $465 million for the corporation.
Although the majority of NPR’s funding comes from corporate sponsors, Trumpian-style politics create an especially hostile environment for a free press. He takes all criticism personally and throws public tantrums, rather than understanding that journalism functions in the same way as the formal checks and balances system. So while his proposal may not have been approved, his rhetoric will have a resounding impact on the public good of journalism, further remaking the presidency in his own image.
Moreover, this attack on NPR is odd. Outside of coverage on the Pompeo case, the organization has plenty of differing coverage outside of domestic politics, unlike CNN, for example. It emphasizes focus on podcasts and unique topics like human stories. Trump has failed to realize that the actions of a single journalist do not represent the views of an entire organization.
More importantly, radio stations in rural America are the most at risk of this budget cut. Often, these radio stations are this cohort of American’s sole source of news. Given that Trump’s supporters are heavily concentrated in this region, they would likely suffer the greatest loss of journalism. But, because Trump has already created a Republican party defined by blind loyalty, this attack on NPR doesn’t generate fear around the loss of information.
Rather, it strengthens his supporters’ distrust in the institution of journalism, giving opportunities for inevitably spread misinformation to take root. Furthermore, it adds a new, personal dimension to political polarization. Rather than respecting the informal rule “agree to disagree,” different parts of the American public will continue to blindly hate each other because of differences in opinion.
Since Trump questioned NPR on Twitter, donations to NPR and its affiliates have gone up significantly, demonstrating yet another form of palpable resistance to the president — and rightly so. The moment we allow him to privilege his personal interests over public ones is the moment we have allowed him to become a full-fledged autocrat.
A free press is a crucial tenet of democracy. So while this may look like just another one of Trump’s hissy fits, it sets a dangerous precedent for the institution’s freedom to critique the country’s politicians. President Trump must understand that he is not a celebrity, and occupies the single most powerful office in the world. He does not need to be well-liked, so long as he executes what is objectively in our national interest.
