Trump orders dismantling of gov’t-run leftist media agencies Voice of America, Radio Liberty

(LifeSiteNews) — U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order dismantling Deep State propaganda arms Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

The agencies were founded in the 1940s during the height of World War II with the intent of spreading "democratic values” in Europe. Critics argue they are antiquated in the post-Cold War era and that they have been co-opted by leftist ideologues in recent decades.  

Trump’s executive order, titled “The Voice of Radical America,” notes that VOA has promoted left-wing and pro-LGBT stories. He himself has previously said it spreads “propaganda.” 

More than 1,300 VOA employees have been put on leave as a result of Trump’s decision. The agency’s director, Michael Abramowitz, complained that it will no longer be able to defend “freedom and democracy around the world.” Abramowitz had been tasked with managing its $267.5 million annual budget.  

Voice of America falls under the umbrella of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which has over 3,400 staff and receives $886-million in taxpayer dollars each year. Trump tapped Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell III to lead the USAGM in January. Former GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is also a senior adviser. Lake has defended Trump’s move to nix VOA, stating that there is “too much rot” and that it is “not salvageable.”  

On Tuesday this week, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sued Lake and the USAGM’s CEO. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington D.C. The plaintiffs argue that only Congress can cut its budget. 

The USAGM recently ended its grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which broadcasts in Russia, Ukraine and other parts of Asia.  

In a press release, the USAGM stated that the cuts were justified in the name of rooting out massive waste, fraud, and abuse as well as “$100s-of-millions being spent on fake news companies.”