"Goodbye" in 20 languages ​​– Donald Trump's blow against US foreign media

Frankfurter Rundschau "Goodbye" in 20 languages ​​– Donald Trump's blow against US foreign media Article by Laura May • 2 hours • 3 minutes reading time Populist against the press Donald Trump is drastically cutting funding for US foreign broadcasters. This blow against critical media is pleasing autocratic heads of state around the world. Washington – US President Donald Trump has made another cut to the US system. In a chainsaw-style à la Javier Milei and Elon Musk, US foreign broadcasters are now being cut back. The government furloughed hundreds of employees in several countries on Saturday (March 15). Reporters and other employees at broadcasters such as Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe received an email over the weekend stating that they would no longer be allowed access to their offices and would have to surrender press credentials, work phones, and other equipment. The right-wing populist Trump signed a corresponding decree on Friday. "Goodbye" in 20 languages ​​– Donald Trump fires employees of foreign broadcasters According to AFP, Trump and his advisor Elon Musk want to drastically cut the budgets and staff of US federal agencies. This includes the Department of Education, which recently announced the layoff of nearly half its employees. Trump also ordered the widespread dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In his executive order signed on Friday, he ordered drastic cuts to the agency responsible for foreign broadcasters (USAGM). This is one of the "elements of federal bureaucracy the President deems unnecessary," the order states. The White House stated that the cuts would ensure that "taxpayers no longer have to pay for radical propaganda." A White House press secretary, Harrison Fields, wrote "goodbye" in 20 languages ​​on the online service X – a reference to the multilingual reporting of foreign broadcasters. "Great Gift to America's Enemies" – Criticism of Trump's Austerity Measures in the USA The director of Voice of America, Michael Abramowitz, said he, along with 1,300 other employees, was placed on leave on Saturday. The broadcaster needs "thoughtful reform," he wrote on Facebook. "But today's action will render Voice of America unable to fulfill its vital mission." Voice of America broadcasts in 43 languages ​​and reaches millions of listeners weekly. VOA was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and, according to Reuters, reaches 360 million people weekly. The head of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Stephen Capus, called the decision a "great gift to America's enemies." He stated: "The Iranian ayatollahs, the communist leaders of China, and the autocrats in Moscow and Minsk can only rejoice at the disappearance of RFE/RL after 75 years." The decision, he said, will make its adversaries "stronger and America weaker." Voice of America has so far reported critically from China and North Korea. Since the end of the Cold War, US-funded foreign broadcasters have reoriented themselves, abandoning much of their programming focused on the newly democratic countries of Central and Eastern Europe to focus on Russia and China. Radio Free Asia, founded in 1996, sees its mission as providing uncensored reports from countries without free media, including China, Myanmar, North Korea, and Vietnam. The broadcasters have editorial safeguards in place that guarantee their independence despite US government funding. This has caused anger in the president's camp, who has long railed against the media. During his first term, Trump suggested that US government-funded media should support his policies. (lm/afp)