It was the great paradox. Whenever anyone complained about taxpayer money going to PBS and NPR, they'd claim that only a tiny fraction of their budgets came from taxpayer dollars. But when it came down to actually defunding PBS and NPR, members of Congress clutched their Tickle Me Elmo dolls and claimed Republicans were trying to kill Big Bird. It was an issue that hounded Mitt Romney during his 2012 run for president, as activists in some really sketchy-looking homemade Big Bird costumes protested outside his rallies.

President Donald Trump's recission bill recently passed, clawing back more than a billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Ben Mullin reports for the New York Times that this has spurred an "explosion" of donations to NPR and PBS stations.

Just replace "Public" with "Propaganda."

The tote bags are flying off the shelves!

CNN's Brian Stelter notes from the Times report that the numbers are "far from enough to make up for the federal cuts."

Again, do they need taxpayer money or not?

That's a good point. These donations are just being made now to stick it to the man. Let's check back in a year and see if white liberals are still willing to pay for DNC talking points.

Editor’s Note: Every single day, here at Twitchy, we will stand up and expose the leftist bias in the media, particularly in public broadcasting.

Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its successes. Join Twitchy VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.