Elmo Drops A Donald Trump Diss Track on ‘The Late Show’ As the White House Targets PBS
This episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is brought to you by the letters “F” and “U” — for “funding.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump’s administration publicly announced its intention to ask congress to rescind the $1.1 billion in federal funding that goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps to support the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR). In the official press release about the move, the White House accused PBS and NPR of spreading “radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news’” and specifically attacked Sesame Street for partnering with CNN to host the “Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism” townhall in 2020 amidst the many Black Lives Matter protests that were taking place across the country at the time.
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For some strange reason, Sesame Street and its biggest star have long been the subject of attacks from the alt-to-far right whose blood boils whenever they see children learning basic mathematics and morality lessons like “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Based on the latest attacks from afar that he’s launched against Sesame Street, Trump apparently wants to be treated like Drake circa summer 2024, and on last night’s The Late Show, Elmo was more than happy to oblige him.
Despite the cleverly edited diss track music video that aired on The Late Show last night, neither Sesame Street nor Elmo himself have officially responded to the White House’s accusations that they’re using taxpayer funding to spread wokeness and fake news while teaching toddlers their ABCs. The PBS show and its stars may remain silent because the most inoffensive show in children’s entertainment is simply tired from the constant bombardment of conservative outrage over its message of compassion and literacy.
Famously, conservative thought leader Jordan Peterson has long been trying to pick a fight with Elmo on Twitter, but even before the neofascist who cries more than the average Sesame Street viewer when they miss their naptime began his anti-Elmo campaign, Republican media outlets like Fox News were calling for congress to defund Sesame Street for pushing woke propaganda talking points like “Be nice to Black children!” and “Reading is fun!”
Sadly, it was only a matter of time before a right-wing White House put Sesame Street in its crosshairs and moved to cut PBS funding over Cookie Monster teaching kids that children of all colors and creeds deserve dessert. But if Sesame Street is really going to meet an anti-woke end like safe air travel and economic stability, at least it will go down swinging — and singing.