Trump Calls on Congress to Shut Down Voice of America Over Critical Rhetoric
Former US President Donald Trump and his administration have called on Congress to dismantle US state media, including Voice of America, for its alleged anti-Republican and anti-American bias. The Trump administration’s representative responsible for oversight of state media, Kari Lake, spoke harshly before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the activities of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which coordinates the work of Voice of America and other state news agencies. She called it “rotten through and through” and suggested that all its remaining units be transferred directly to the US State Department. According to her, one of the goals of the Trump administration is to minimize the presence of state media in the global information space. She emphasized that many of the programs of Voice of America have an anti-American bias or promote liberal prejudices. “Why should a Republican support the ‘mouthpiece’ of the Democrats — ‘Voice of America’? It is a total leftist disaster, and no member of the Republican Party can support its preservation. Kill it!” – said Lake, summing up her position. She also focused on the discussion of the legislative “firewall” — a special mechanism that has been in effect in the United States since 1994 and prohibits government agencies from interfering in the editorial policy of independent media. Lake is convinced that this measure prevents the administration from controlling content and avoiding bias in the media. She emphasized that this “firewall” still guarantees the independence of “Voice of America” and other similar structures, but at the same time emphasizes that since its founding during World War II, “Voice of America” has worked on the principle of objective reporting of news and is a “soft force” promoting national interests. The rather harsh statements came against the backdrop of long-standing discussions about the role of state media in the global information space, especially after Trump personally vented his anger on the social network Truth Social, calling the Voice of America “totally leftist” and calling for its cessation. In the context of targeted criticism and calls for the liquidation of this institution, this time the issue was about urgent measures to ideologically reorient or close the structure, which the former US leader considers a tool for promoting foreign interests in the international space.