Radios and Lifelines

One Friday night — March 14 — President Trump essentially shut off the radios: RFE/RL (our combination of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty); Radio Free Asia; the Voice of America; Radio Martí (which broadcasts to Cuba); and so forth. Can he do that? Does the president have the power to silence the radios, all by himself? This proposition is now being tested in court.

Some of us regard the radios as jewels in the American crown, whatever their flaws and problems. Trump and his administration have a very different view. The White House put out a statement saying that “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” On X, Ian Miles Cheong said that the radios “produced and disseminated far-left propaganda.” Cheong is a “social-media influencer” from Malaysia who has contributed to RT, the Kremlin propaganda network. His post was “reposted” by Tulsi Gabbard, who is our director of national intelligence.

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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One Friday night — March 14 — President Trump essentially shut off the radios: RFE/RL (our combination of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty); Radio Free Asia; the Voice of America; Radio Martí (which broadcasts to Cuba); and so forth. Can he do that? Does the president have the power to silence the radios, all by himself? This proposition is now being tested in court.

Some of us regard the radios as jewels in the American crown, whatever their flaws and problems. Trump and his administration have a very different view. The White House put out a statement saying that “taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.” On X, Ian Miles Cheong said that the radios “produced and disseminated far-left propaganda.” Cheong is a “social-media influencer” from Malaysia who has contributed to RT, the Kremlin propaganda network. His post was “reposted” by Tulsi Gabbard, who is our director of national intelligence.