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They tried under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Newt Gingrich gave it a go when he controlled the House, and Bob Dole did, too, when he held power in the Senate.
But for five decades, Republicans failed time and again to choke off federal funding for public broadcasting. Some were afraid of being accused of avicide (for “killing Big Bird” of “Sesame Street”), while others appreciated their local public stations (and the airtime they personally received) — always stopping the party short of turning their threats against PBS and NPR into law.
That they have finally been able to do it now, voting on Friday to claw back $1.1 billion in public broadcasting funds, on one level speaks to the power of President Trump. His threat to support primary challenges against any Republicans who might try to block the cuts all but guaranteed they would go through this time.
“Republicans who supported public media for their entire careers are voting to kill it, and there is only one reason: Donald Trump,” said Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, who has been at the center of efforts to protect public media for decades. “When Trump sets a loyalty test today, Republicans fall in line.”
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Mr. Markey argued that Mr. Trump’s moves against PBS and NPR were part of the administration’s larger campaign to undermine mainstream journalism. It is in line, he said, with the president’s lawsuits against the major broadcast networks and suggestions that the Federal Communications Commission might punish their stations over accusations of liberal bias.
