Many PBS and NPR fans are not happy with Senate Republicans and President Trump, after the Senate voted to claw back $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasters on Thursday morning — and they are sharing their displeasure on social media.
On Bluesky, which was described as “Blue Heaven” for “The Resistance” to Trump and Elon Musk’s X after the 2024 election, several prominent users have criticized the revoked funding.
Former megachurch pastor and writer John Pavlovitz called it a “disgraceful and pitiful attack” that shows Republicans need “stupid people” to support the party, while writer and transgender activist Charlotte Clymer mocked the idea PBS has been spewing “leftwing propaganda” with shows like “Sesame Street.”
Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor for President Clinton, added he felt President Trump was “hell-bent” on defunding NPR and PBS so he has more control over the media.
Karin Wulf, a History professor at Brown University, added she will be cutting some of her streaming subscriptions in order to pay for PBS and NPR, which she said are “essentials.”
A number of smaller accounts lamented the defunding of NPR and PBS, with many ripping Republicans for voting for the rescissions bill. Some users said GOP lawmakers should be ashamed of their decision, while another said “Republicans are why we can’t have nice things.”
Yet another user blasted the “ghastly” decision and added “we live in hell,” now that NPR and PBS are defunded.
Here is a look at some of those reactions:
Soon before the Senate voted in favor of clawing back funding for public broadcasters, NPR CEO Katherine Maher told CBS News “defunding this is a real risk to the public safety of the country.”
“Public media, public radio, public television, are a critical part of the emergency response plans of nearly half of the states in this nation,” Maher added. “If these types of emergency alerting go away, you will have fewer outlets to be able to respond in real time” to future natural disasters.
After the vote, PBS CEO Paula Kerger said the lack of public funding would be “devastating” to stations in rural areas.
CNN reporter Brian Stelter noted that, once the bill is approved by the House of Representatives, it would be the first time since 1967 the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — which allocates funds to PBS and NPR — would be “zeroed out” since 1967.
Over on X, meanwhile, it was a easier to find users who were happy about PBS and NPR losing taxpayer support.
Vice President JD Vance said the vote was one of “two big wins” for the Trump administration, with the other being “border crossings at their lowest levels in history.”
A few other writers and commentators, including Outkick founder Clay Travis and WSJ writer Kyle Smith, weighed in on the vote:
And before many fans and detractors were sharing their two cents about the vote on Thursday morning, veteran NPR host Steve Inskeep posted at 5:19 a.m. ET that he was up working at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C. alongside “Morning Edition” co-host Michel Martin.
“Still here, still working for you,” Inskeep posted.
