The PBS host claims Voice of America and Radio Free Asia are ‘such a gift that the American gave the world.’ The NY Times journalist on PBS calls Trump’s cuts to them very sad. But it sounds like they’ve both guzzled way too much Voice of America and Radio Free Asia Kool-Aid. They’re completely brainwashed by those airwaves and their relentless propaganda, especially that nonsense they call ‘soft power.’ Really, you two are just the result of taxpayer-funded propaganda doing its job, with VOA truly being the voice of the U.S. government!
Amanpour said Trump shuttered VOA and RFA. But Trump’s March 14, 2025, executive order didn’t abolish VOA or RFA—it slashed their funding by ordering the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to reduce operations to the “minimum presence and function required by law.” For VOA, this meant 1,300+ staff were put on paid administrative leave starting March 15, effectively halting most broadcasts. For RFA, federal grants were terminated, leading to unpaid leave for most of its 300 U.S.-based staff by March 19 and a staff cut to 75 by late March. To an observer, especially one sympathetic to their mission (like a PBS host or NY Times journalist), this could feel like a shuttering, even if the doors weren’t padlocked.