We’ve talk about this before, but Congress has passed a bill that will cut $1.1 billion in federal funding for PBS and NPR.
Trump loved it, saying, “THIS IS BIG!!!”
In case you didn’t know, PBS and Sesame Street have had a very, very long relationship dating back to the show’s premiere in 1969. While new episodes now premiere first on Netflix, PBS continues to broadcast them, essentially providing free access to millions of families.
Sooo, after Trump’s official budget cuts passed, Sesame Street posted on X.
“For more than 50 years, Sesame Workshop has been proud to partner with PBS to bring learning and joy to children across America. Generations of children have benefitted from the public investment that has enabled PBS to do such important work, and the need remains. PBS, we’re so proud to be your neighbor.”
People in the replies are sad: “Bye. Curling up in a ball crying this is too pure.”
Other people are angry: “HOW THE HELL CAN YOU BE MAD AT SESAME STREET seriously loved these guys they need all the help they can get.”
And this person compared supporting Sesame Street to being a form of “the resistance”: “Who ever thought that reposting @sesamestreet would be a political act of resistance?”
Then you have a bunch of people sharing personal stories about how the show impacted them: “Sesame Street educated children all over the world, including me, with public funds.”
“I learned how to speak English and read because of Sesame Street,” another person shared.
This person described their own personal experience: “I grew up really poor. We obviously couldn’t afford cable. But Mr Rogers, reading rainbow, square one, and some interesting nature documentaries provided some great entertainment to a lonely kid.”
And this person simply said: “I learned my ABCs by 18 months from these guys. Defunding PBS is a crime against children.”
