'Shut them down': Musk calls for closure of two major radios

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
9 Feb 2025 23:15

Elon Musk has called for shutting down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America as part of DOGE's cost-cutting initiative.

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Elon Musk speaks at a presidential inauguration event on behalf of President Donald Trump in Washington, January 20, 2025. (AP)

Billionaire Elon Musk, the chief of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has called for shutting down Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America.

Musk responded to a post published by US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Richard Grenell, describing RFE/RL and Voice of America as "a relic of the past", "filled with far-left activists", and allegedly being paid for by American taxpayers, calling for their closure.

"Yes, shut them down... It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money," he stated in a post on his platform X.

Yes, shut them down.

1. Europe is free now (not counting stifling bureaucracy). Hello??

2. Nobody listens to them anymore.

3. It’s just radical left crazy people talking to themselves while torching $1B/year of US taxpayer money. https://t.co/PnmN4erD91
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 9, 2025

This decision is part of the Trump administration's sweeping government overhaul and cost-cutting initiative, aimed at reducing federal spending and eliminating programs deemed unnecessary, led by the billionaire.

DOGE guns Politico: Is the Trump admin going after the media industry?

Earlier this week, the United States government announced it would halt tax spending on media subscriptions, particularly Politico, according to US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

According to Leavitt, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) had been financially supporting media organizations, including Politico, using at least $8 million in taxpayer money to subsidize Politico subscriptions.

However, a probe by Axios found that $24,000 of the $8.2 million seemingly came from USAID. This total amount was what the entire government paid to Politico, likely for premium subscriptions like Politico Pro, which offers in-depth coverage of policy and industry topics, costing thousands of dollars annually.

According to Axios, the Trump administration's focus on cutting relatively small media budgets at the start of his second term highlights how high a priority targeting media companies is for them.