PBS Hits Back At Republican Attacks With Poll Showing 65 Percent Of Trump Voters Approve Of Its Funding
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
PBS hit back at attacks from Republican allies of President Donald Trump this week by releasing an internal poll finding the public broadcaster has broad support among Americans, including among Trump voters.
Axios’s Sara Fischer obtained the internal poll, commissioned using YouGov, and noted that it found “65% of Trump voters think the public broadcaster is either underfunded or adequately funded.” Axios also reported that the poll found “82% of voters, including 72% of Trump voters, said they valued PBS for its children’s programming and educational tools.”
The poll was made public the day after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced her subcommittee will hold Oversight hearings and requested both the heads of NPR and PBS to testify.
The House Oversight Committee sent Paula Kerge, the CEO of PBS, a letter on Monday that read, “The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (Subcommittee) is planning a hearing on federally funded radio and television, including its systemically biased content. The Subcommittee is concerned by Public Broadcasting Service’s (PBS) blatantly ideological and partisan coverage and looks forward to your participation in our upcoming hearing.”
“The Subcommittee seeks to better understand PBS’s position on providing Americans with accurate information. Please provide the Subcommittee with your availability to testify,” the letter said, adding:
Recently, PBS implied that Mr. Elon Musk made a fascist salute while addressing an inaugural celebration hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office. The characterization was clearly false. According to the Anti-Defamation League, a group that focuses on combating antisemitism.
Musk has joined other Republicans in beating the drum against PBS and NPR. Axios reported that PBS losing its federal funding would be “catastrophic,’ noting that “Congressionally approved government funding amounts to roughly 15% of the overall PBS budget across PBS and hundreds of its local member television stations.”
Last week, Brendan Carr, the Trump-allied chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, sent a letter to the heads of NPR and PBS announcing an investigation into the public outlets for airing sponsorships, a longtime practice.
Both Greene’s hearings and Carr’s investigation come amid Trump’s ongoing criticism of NPR and PBS. “NO MORE FUNDING FOR NPR, A TOTAL SCAM! EDITOR SAID THEY HAVE NO REPUBLICANS, AND IS ONLY USED TO ‘DAMAGE TRUMP,’” Trump fumed on his Truth Social platform last April. “THEY ARE A LIBERAL DISINFORMATION MACHINE. NOT ONE DOLLAR!!!”
The PBS/YouGov poll surveyed 2,000 respondents, including 792 Trump voters.
