Ex-RNC chair: GOP’s 'self-defeating' war on key agency undermines 'areas they represent'

08 August

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele in Annapolis, Maryland on January 18, 2025 (Maryland GovPics/Flickr)

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) was established when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, leading to the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in 1969 and National Public Radio (NPR) in 1970. Now, in 2025, President Donald Trump is defunding the CPB by $1.1 billion.

Trump is accusing CPB of having a "left-wing" bias, and many MAGA Republicans are glad to see him defunding it.

But former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele, in an MSNBC column published on August 8, argues that GOP claims about liberal bias at CPB ring "hollow" — as right-wing media outlets are plentiful.

"President Donald Trump can add another dubious achievement to his list of long-held conservative goals: killing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)," Steele, a Never Trump conservative, explains. "After Trump signed a bill clawing back $1 billion in funding, the nonprofit that supports PBS, NPR and more than 1500 local public TV and radio stations around the country announced it will shut down by the start of next year. This will please movement conservatives who have long thought the mainstream news media was biased against them. But it comes at a time when their complaints sound hollow."

The right, Steele observes, has plenty of media outlets to choose from.

"Conservatives have never had more options to get the news," the former RNC chairman notes. "They can read The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — plus the upcoming California Post — or The Daily Wire, The Federalist, the Daily Caller and Breitbart News. They can listen to local AM talk radio or tune into conservative voices on satellite radio, podcasts and online streaming. They can tune into Fox News, Newsmax TV and One America News Network. Or they can check out conservative influencers on social media, including Truth Social and X."

Steele continues, "Somehow, that is not enough. Under Trump, they have sought to exert influence over mainstream news outlets as well. Using federal approval of a merger as leverage, Trump has persuaded CBS to agree to an ombudsman who will scrutinize its news coverage for hints of bias. The president cheered when late-night host Stephen Colbert's show was canceled and demanded more airtime for conservative commentator Greg Gutfeld. He's made life hard for everyone from '60 Minutes' to The Associated Press to The Wall Street Journal over stories he didn't like."

Many Republicans, Steele argues, still have a "feeling of cultural exclusion" that "feeds Trump's attempts to wrest control of the media."

"It certainly explains the self-defeating decision by so many Republican members of Congress to shut down the CPB, which helps fund local radio and TV stations in rural areas they represent," the Never Trump conservative writes. "Those stations provide valuable information on everything from local issues to natural disasters. And let’s not forget: PBS is where William F. Buckley's 'Firing Line' got its start. Public broadcasting helped to mainstream conservatism. That's the part they conveniently forget…. Conservatives built a media empire to challenge the establishment, and they did it despite any real or perceived biases — but now demonstrate the very bias they once claimed to fight."

Michael Steele's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

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