They just cannot help themselves on the Left, it appears. The arguments get stronger by the day for the U.S. to unburden itself from subsidizing public broadcasters like National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). In early May, as RedState reported, President Donald Trump signed an executive order starting up the motors on defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) media platforms.

Related: ‘D’ Is for Defund: Trump Signs Executive Order to Halt Taxpayer Funding of PBS, NPR

Their apologists are not giving up the ghost just yet, as a former CEO of NPR exemplified with a recent sit-down on CNN's "News Central" show. Vivian Schiller told the host that she does not believe the White House "[has] the authority to defund CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."

Watch:

She continued, claiming that "it's not an agency of the Federal branch, it is...was created by Congress and is funded by Congress." These are arguments we've heard before, and some would disagree with her opinion on who has the ultimate authority on this matter. Even if she's 100 percent correct, though, it's unlikely she'll get much further than PBS did with one Republican congresscritter, as my colleague Sister Toldjah wrote. One thing we do know: Defunding these places is not a violation of the Constitution.

MORE: 'All a Facade': GOP Congressman Reveals What Happened When PBS Met With Him Over Funding Concerns

Mommy Needs a Valium: NPR CEO Says Trump Defunding Order a Violation of First Amendment Rights

But that wasn't all Schiller said, and what she went on to bloviate about will likely lose any credibility for her argument because the level of elitism in it is more revealing than she might realize: (emphasis added)

As for the media environment today and whether it's different than [sic] the 1960s, of course it is...

Millions of people...including and especially in rural areas, many of them in red states, rely on public radio...and public television for that content. It's free, it's over the air, not everybody has cable or satellite. That is still an important mechanism into communities all over the country.

Did you catch how the CNN host also chimed in, spouting similar pablum about people needing the government to keep shelling out Americans' tax dollars, since those poor people in the sticks would need PBS or NPR for information during emergencies? OK, boomer.

Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia state representative who is now running for U.S. Senate in 2026 in the Mountaineer state, begged to differ, as one of the very people about which Schiller and her media pal were speaking.

He had no trouble refuting the flack's elitist words about rural red staters; instead of prattling on like she did, Evans only needed a handful of words, in a post on his X account:

"Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller says people in rural areas rely on public radio and TV to get their information," he wrote. "I'm from the coal fields of West Virginia. We do NOT rely on NPR for information 🤣"

There's no way to know this far ahead what Evans' chances are in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, as he'll be facing off against not only another contender but incumbent Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R), according to Ballotopedia. But trust that RedState will be keeping an eye on the race as it unfolds over the coming months leading up to next November.

Editor's Note: The legacy media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about the Left's elistist words and actions all across this country.  

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