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🌊 The Voice of Radical America?
Trump is shutting down the VOA. Is it as radical as he says?
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By Max Frost
On Saturday, the White House put out a press release: “President Donald J. Trump’s executive order on Friday will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”
The target was a longstanding source of American information around the world: The Voice of America (VOA). Or, as the White House called it, “The Voice of Radical America.”
For more than 80 years, VOA has been the United States' global megaphone, broadcasting news and American perspectives to millions of people in countries with restricted press. It exposed Soviet disinformation during the Cold War and countered Chinese and Russian state narratives in recent years. Now, President Trump wants it gone.
Trump and many Republicans say VOA has strayed from its mission and now promotes views that are often critical of America while amplifying liberal perspectives. Many others – including press freedom groups, bipartisan lawmakers, and VOA journalists – disagree, arguing that the agency is an important source of accurate news and a tool of soft power that challenges authoritarian regimes seeking to control the flow of information.
So, is VOA a beacon of truth in a sea of propaganda, or has it lost its way? And does it advance American interests or harm them?
That’s the subject of today’s deep dive.
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Editor’s Note
Shutting down VOA: A good move or bad? As always, curious to hear your thoughts. Send them in by replying to this email or clicking here.
Speaking of thoughts, you all sent a lot in about yesterday’s email. Here is a selection.
Pat H wrote:
It is concerning to me that the ACLU would be stepping in for the rights of illegal immigrants of this nature. It has always been my opinion the these folks are not simply “undocumented immigrants “ they have broken the law and are indeed “illegal immigrants”.
My family has many members who immigrated to the US. They were sponsored in, some required to serve in the military, learned to speak and write English, fully assimilated into American culture while maintaining their roots.
These gang members have been identified as such and I fully agree with their immediate deportation. I do not believe a majority of the people crossing our boarders are criminal; however, they are illegal immigrants who should have followed our laws if they want to live in our country.
Valentina from California had a different perspective:
I am extremely worried. I am Venezuelan and I have been living in the States for more than 15 years. I have family and friends who are also Venezuelans in different states. We are educated and hardworking people and all of us are worried. We follow the rules, pay our taxes and go through the legal paths. And we are all very frustrated because of a small group of criminals, we all have to pay the consequences. Don’t get me wrong, I want any criminal to pay for their crimes no matter where they come from. But this administration is like a bad gardener: just trimming all the bushes, flowers, fruits, and good plants without assessing the whole yard first. I have friends who were born and raised here and their families have lived here for at least 2 generations, and they want to leave the country and actively planning to do so. All this breaks my heart.
Kyla disagrees:
I think trumps first term was successful. However it was marred by constant in house drama. He’s mentioned it this time around, the mistakes he’s made and how he’d do things differently. How he underestimated how dysfunctional our system is and its politicians. It was fodder for legacy media. And the voices at the forefront of the DNC. This time? Homeboy didn’t come to fkn play 😂 I think that shift from rose colored trump to fk-it-we-ball trump is jarring to the left this time around.
Look it’s one thing to sweep thru neighborhoods, kids getting off the bus to find no one’s home. That happened during Obama’s 2nd term in my hometown btw. It’s another thing completely to deport, expeditiously, illegals with gang ties. It’s like…wtf are yall complaining about now?
He’s ignoring the red tape that has been used as an excuse to not get shit done. Now I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing but I can understand why someone who doesn’t support him would try to stop or slow him down. The typical deportation process can take years. Guess who’s paying for it?
It’s getting to the point I’m beginning to abhor the left. They seem childish and vengeful af.
One more reply from Carol:
Absolutely do NOT support his invoking the alien act, deporting more than criminals to foreign jails, where they may be used as slave labor. Also, if the executive branch ignores direct decisions of the legislative branch, our constitutional democracy is destroyed.
And, for good measure, an angry email from Roy:
Sounds like Roca news is turning blue. I'll be dropping you now, but it was a pretty good run!
That’s all for today. Make sure you didn’t miss our recent stories:
See you tomorrow.
-Max and Max