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Is trump trying to cancel sesame street
Executive summary
Available reporting shows President Trump and parts of the conservative policy apparatus have taken concrete steps that reduce public funding or federal support tied to PBS — actions that have seriously affected Sesame Street’s financing and distribution — but sources disagree on motive and on whether this amounts to an explicit, personal effort “to cancel Sesame Street” (examples: Project 2025’s policy proposals and the May 2025 executive action blocking federal funding for PBS are documented) [1] [2] [3].
1. What the record shows: cuts and actions that hit Sesame Street
Multiple outlets report that federal funding cuts and executive actions in 2025 curtailed support for public broadcasting and grants that had helped Sesame Workshop, contributing to layoffs and distribution changes for Sesame Street; The Washington Post reports the nonprofit blamed loss of federal funding under President Trump for painful staff reductions, and the BBC reports an executive order blocked federal funding for PBS, after which Sesame Street struck a deal with Netflix [4] [2]. Project 2025 — a conservative governing plan linked to Trump-aligned planners — explicitly proposed cutting funding for shows on PBS and NPR, putting programs like Sesame Street on the chopping block if enacted [1].
2. Claims that Trump is “trying to cancel” Sesame Street — how sources frame motive
Some political actors and Democratic House appropriations messaging characterise the moves as politically motivated attacks on “enemies” including PBS and Sesame Street, alleging retribution for perceived bias [3]. Independent reporting and fact checks note a longer history: Trump sought to end federal support for public broadcasting during his prior administration and critics point to past parody sketches of Trump on Sesame Street as a possible personal gripe — Snopes traces that online claim and notes parodies have existed, while reporting in outlets such as the Irish Star and Mashable document Sesame Street’s occasional lampooning of Trump over years [5] [6] [7]. Available sources do not establish a direct, single provable statement from President Trump saying “I am cancelling Sesame Street”; instead they show policy actions with clear effects [2] [4].
3. The policy vehicle: Project 2025 and executive orders
Project 2025 — promoted by conservative planners tied to the broader movement that supports Trump — explicitly lists cutting public broadcasting funding as part of its agenda, a policy proposal that if implemented would defund programming on PBS and NPR including Sesame Street [1]. In 2025, reporting documents an executive order or White House action to block federal funding for PBS and CPB, described in multiple outlets as the mechanism that precipitated distribution upheaval for Sesame Street [2] [3].
4. Impact versus intent: cancellations, distribution shifts, and financial reality
The practical effects are documented: loss of a private streaming partner, federal grant cuts, layoffs, and a new distribution arrangement with Netflix have all been reported as consequences that imperil the traditional public-broadcasting route for Sesame Street [4] [2]. Whether those outcomes equal an attempted “cancellation” depends on whether one focuses on intent (a political vendetta) or effect (policies that remove funding); reporting supports the latter (funding cuts and distribution changes) while motive remains contested and politically interpreted [4] [3] [1].
5. Competing perspectives and political framing
Democratic officials framed the policy as an attack on children’s programming and partisanship by the White House, explicitly naming Elmo and Big Bird in criticism [3]. Conservative policy documents and proponents frame defunding public broadcasters as ending taxpayer subsidization of “biased” media and as sound downsizing of federal roles — Project 2025 articulates these priorities as policy rather than an ad-hoc vendetta [1] [5]. Media outlets such as the BBC and Fortune report the outcomes and include quotes from Sesame Workshop leadership about adjusting strategy; they do not uniformly state this was a personal vendetta, instead tying it to policy choices and budget decisions [2] [8].
6. What is not proven in these sources
Available sources do not include a direct admission from President Trump saying his aim was to “cancel Sesame Street” as an explicit personal target; they also do not show legislation specifically naming Sesame Street for elimination. Instead, they document broader policy proposals and executive actions that removed or blocked funding for public broadcasters, which in turn affected Sesame Street [1] [2] [4].
7. Bottom line for readers
If your question asks whether actions have been taken that materially threaten Sesame Street’s traditional public-broadcasting support, the answer is yes: federal funding cuts and policy moves in 2025 have directly affected Sesame Workshop’s finances and distribution [4] [2]. If your question asks whether President Trump has explicitly declared a campaign solely aimed at “cancelling Sesame Street” as a personal vendetta, current reporting shows policy motives and partisan framing exist but does not show an explicit first-person declaration of that singular intent in the sources provided [3] [1] [5].