On MSNBC's Deadline: White House, Angelo Carusone explains how Trump’s attempt to defund NPR and PBS is an effort to further right-wing “narrative dominance”
Carusone: “They’re making a bet on the future of politics, that somehow he’s going to either be able to bend the narrative his way, or exploit the rage and the anxiety and the fear to actually enhance his political power”
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From the May 2, 2025, edition of MSNBC's Deadline: White House
NICOLLE WALLACE (HOST): Angelo, you've given me the gift of this term narrative dominance, which is I think what Michelle's getting at there. I think where that friction perhaps comes in, something that Trump's had for years now, is people's lived experience. You know, going to look for these programs and these hosts that are beloved and that are not viewed the way Donald Trump and the people around him see them. You know, where is my child's programming? Where is that essential news? Where are all the things I need to buy that are suddenly 10, 20, 30, 40, 50% more expensive? Or we didn't even talk about today, not on the shelf at all. This feels like a real precarious moment.
ANGELO CARUSONE (GUEST): It does, and I think that, you know, it is important here, and they are trying to co-opt or break what they view as oppositional forces and ultimately expand and enhance their narrative dominance. And I think you were discussing this earlier in the show too and it's an important point here, which is that why are, you know, given his numbers and in any other situation, Trump would have, you know, would be getting a lot more pushback from his own party.
But the people closest to the ground that are most connected to this, they're making a bet on the future of politics, that somehow he's going to either be able to bend the narrative his way, or exploit the rage and the anxiety and the fear to actually enhance his political power, not diminish it. And so that's why they're being quiet right now. They're waiting to see how this plays out. And the through line between what's happening with NPR, with PBS, and with Harvard and these institutions is that you're going after anything that he views as oppositional that can sort of counteract that narrative.
And in this media space, it is particularly important because to your point, yeah, people do -- they need to understand or see who's to blame for this. And yes, some people will feel it and they may draw the dots themselves. But if you don't have any good information out there from trusted sources, it's going to be a heck of a lot easier for him to tell them who to blame. And he has a very good track record of success with that.