Donald Trump has proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities, in his administration’s first federal budget plan. The New York Times reports that it is the first time a president has called for such cuts. Trump also wants to get rid of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — a major revenue source for both PBS and NPR — in addition to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Together, Trump’s proposed cuts would total $300 million out of the $1.1 trillion available in annual discretionary spending.
The inclusion of such measures in the White House’s budget plan is a far cry from their implementation; it’s unclear whether Congress, which is in charge of the budget, will follow the president’s recommendations. Trump’s proposal, regardless of its ultimate consequences, still marks a dismal sign for the arts. And it comes the morning after Ivanka Trump took in a musical, Come From Away, on Broadway.
