For a person of sizeable stature and weight, Donald Trump is a very tiny man.
I refer, of course, to his character. That amounts to a barely visible speck.
Now he has gone after NPR and PBS, issuing one of his infamous (but legally meaningless, since they don’t have the effect of laws) executive orders to stop federal funding for these broadcast media.
Trump and his loyalists have long accused the two organizations of being biased in favor of left-wing causes and of presenting “trash that passes for ‘news’” (Patrick Smith and Gary Grumbach, “Trump Signs Executive Order to Stop Federal Funding for NPR and PBS,” NBC News, May 2, 2025).
In fact, it’s the truth that’s biased against Trump and his views, not public media.
Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the organization through which federal funding reaches public media, has issued a defiant statement stressing that the White House does not control it.
“CPB is not a federal executive agency subject to the President’s authority,” she said. “Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government.”
When Congress created CPB in 1967, she added, it “forbade any government agency or official from directing, supervising, or controlling it.”
Currently, about 15% of PBS’ funding comes from the federal government. NPR says less than 1% of its funding is from public sources (Smith and Grumbach). The rest comes from sponsorships and other private donations.
The percentage of the federal budget that goes to public media is almost not worth mentioning, akin to a rounding error: about 0.01% (www.lpm.org/ news/2025-3-05/how-federal-fundingfor- public-media-works).
But for such a small investment, the public media’s educational programming for kids (Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and Curious George as a few examples) has enriched the lives of untold numbers of children.
And adults aren’t left out. Masterpiece Theatre, NOVA, the Ken Burns documentaries, plus news, drama, arts and culture programs have presented numerous viewing experiences not available otherwise.
If given a choice between listening to Donald Trump and to Big Bird, I know which I’d choose. The one who ISN’T full of himself, who dispenses knowledge and wise advice, and who cares about others.
In other words, the one NOT named Trump.