Deeply Dishonest NPR Tweet Sparks Calls For Permanent Defunding

Public funding for National Public Radio was under fire on Tuesday after the network posted an inflammatory tweet with verifiably false information about President Trump's comments regarding a shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

"President Trump declined to condemn the actions of the suspected 17-year-old shooter of 3 protesters against police brutality in Kenosha — claiming, without evidence, that it appeared the gunman was acting in self-defense," the tweet said on Monday evening.

President Trump declined to condemn the actions of the suspected 17-year-old shooter of 3 protesters against police brutality in Kenosha — claiming, without evidence, that it appeared the gunman was acting in self-defense.https://t.co/a7LnGABckN
— NPR (@NPR) September 1, 2020

The tweet was referencing Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who has been charged with multiple crimes including first-degree intentional homicide following a shooting incident in Kenosha, Wisconsin last week. Rittenhouse is seen in the video with a rifle, being confronted by alleged members of Antifa. What transpired led to three rioters being shot, two of them fatally. The surviving shooting victim, who suffered a wound to the arm, has been seen in several photos with a handgun during the incident.

Law enforcement in Kenosha has confirmed that they are still investigating details of the incident to get a clearer picture of what happened, and who the aggressors were in the deadly incident.

The report linked by the radio network in their Tuesday tweet, titled "Trump Defends Kenosha Shooting Suspect," almost immediately debunked their own lede by admitting that there was public video of the incident that sparked debate over whether the teen acted in self-defense.

Graphic video from the chaotic scene only tell a partial story. The shooter's alleged actions have split onlookers on party lines, with Republicans painting Rittenhouse as sort of tragic figure — a martyred patriot whose extreme actions were born of Democrat failures to quell violence on their streets.
Democrats, meanwhile, have taken a dimmer view of the situation, pointing to the president's increasingly divisive rhetoric and past endorsements of violence against protesters, as evidence of a clear message to renegade gun owners to feel that they can act with impunity in the name of "law and order."

The claim made by NPR and subsequent defense of the extreme left-wing point of view that condemns an accused man echoes their support of a book written by a transgender, pro-rioting activist titled, "In Defense of Looting." NPR published a glowing review of the book.

From @NPR 'One Author's Argument 'In Defense Of Looting.'' https://t.co/48KoMATSkM pic.twitter.com/USGBeDeVBI
— Byron York (@ByronYork) August 29, 2020

NPR is funded partially by the government via grants from the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. The president has advocated for the elimination of all public funding for broadcasting, including PBS, on multiple occasions in budget proposals throughout his presidency.

But many have the president's back, as NPR has shifted further and further to the left and now consistently publishes and shares falsehoods while advocation for radical leftism.

There is no legitimate argument for @NPR to exist as a taxpayer-funded entity. It is ridiculously leftist and biased against the right. #DefundNPR https://t.co/bqwyR4QqEv
— Dan Gainor (@dangainor) September 1, 2020

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagations of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical.” -Thomas Jefferson #DefundNPR
— Kristin B. Tate (@KristinBTate) September 1, 2020

.@NPR pushes out misinformation. NPR is a radical leftist organization funded with your tax dollars. #DefundNPR https://t.co/9jRyKhYmmv
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) September 1, 2020