As RedState previously reported, NPR and PBS both have come under the federal government’s microscope since Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term, with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr informing them Wednesday he was directing the commission’s Enforcement Bureau to launch an investigation over suspicions that they are “violating federal law by airing commercials.”
“In particular,” Carr went on to note, “it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
Select members of Congress also received a copy of the letter, in which Carr also stressed that, if the investigation determines they violated federal law, it “would further undermine any case for continuing to fund NPR and PBS with taxpayer dollars,” something Carr stated he believes should happen anyway.
Defenders of the partially federally funded networks, of course, are interpreting this as a backhanded way of punishing them for their well-documented instances of anti-conservative bias in broadcasting, print reporting, social media, and even hiring.
SEE ALSO: Longtime NPR Editor Who Exposed Their Bias Resigns, Rips ‘Divisive’ New CEO on the Way Out the Door
It is against that backdrop that we turn to a rather interesting back-and-forth between Fox News anchor John Roberts and NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik over, surprise surprise, media bias as it relates to Trump coverage.
It all started Monday after Roberts used the term “big win” for Trump over Mexico bending the knee in their war of words, agreeing to “surge 10,000 Mexican National Guard soldiers to the border to combat fentanyl trafficking,” with the U.S. greenlighting the pausing of the tariffs for 30 days while they make sure Mexico is doing what they said they would.
Folkenflik clearly viewed Roberts’ description as an instance of pro-Trump bias, and quote-tweeted him with his own hot take:
Fox’s straight news anchor @johnrobertsFox – https://t.co/UE1bV1gCm5
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) February 3, 2025
Roberts then responded by explaining why he used the words to describe Trump’s win:
When a U.S. President – whether Republican or Democrat – uses leverage and the bully pulpit to get another nation to do something that it wasn’t willing to do, I think that could easily be described as a “big win”
The fauxfended Folkenflik replied by going the bbbbbut Biden route:
Thanks for reply, John.
Mexico has done it before, even during Trump and Biden terms… so why coerce a partner? Trump can certainly call that whatever he wants. From a straight news sense hard to see a big win.
(h/t @AstorAaron for archival stories) https://t.co/Q6wECYyjDQ pic.twitter.com/WY47WNEP8E
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) February 3, 2025
It was Roberts, however, who ended up getting the last laugh:
Almost forgot this – From NPR’s straight news reporters: https://t.co/d24NR1bNxz pic.twitter.com/uYwOl4XNre
— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) February 3, 2025
NPR, of course, was one of the many infamous so-called “news” outlets that admittedly refused to run stories about the New York Post’s blockbuster October 2020 reporting of the contents found on Hunter Biden’s laptop. They rationalized it in a newsletter at the time by claiming that “There are many, many red flags in that New York Post investigation.”
Who was the person at NPR who documented the so-called “red flags”? Let us all act surprised here: “NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik detailed most of them here.”
Why haven’t you seen any stories from NPR about the NY Post’s Hunter Biden story? Read more in this week’s newsletter➡️ https://t.co/CJesPgmGvo pic.twitter.com/jAi7PnpbZf
— NPR Public Editor (@NPRpubliceditor) October 22, 2020
So, yeah – Folkenflik lecturing another media figure about alleged media bias is like having Bill Clinton serve as a moral authority on being faithful to your spouse. In other words, might have been better to sit this one out, buddy. Just sayin’.
