There’s a push from Congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump to slash funding to public broadcasters NPR and PBS. If new polling should be believed, that would be an unpopular move.
A new Harris Poll survey shows that 66% of Americans believe that public radio should receive federal funding. Additionally, 66% say that sending the funding to public radio is “a good value” for their tax dollars.
The support isn’t limited to only one side of the political aisle. 77% of self-identified Democrats responded favorably to federal funding continuing to NPR. Meanwhile, 58% of Republicans responded similarly.
76% of Democrats said they found good value with their tax dollars going to NPR, while 59% of Republicans agreed. An additional 71% of respondents said they thought public radio provided a valuable service to the community, while 69% said they trust the news and information provided by public radio.
The survey conducted by Harris Poll included more than 2,000 respondents aged 18 and older.
The release of the data comes as President Donald Trump has sued the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in an effort to oust board members. He had previously attempted to fire the members, before it was determined that that was not an option.
Vice President JD Vance had to be called to the Senate floor to cast the tie-breaking vote to continue debate on funding the CPB on Tuesday after Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Susan Collins (ME) joined all Democrats in voting against the measure. The Corporation, which funds NPR and PBS, is set to receive more than $1 billion in funding unless that allocation is removed.
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