Sotto Voce:Trump moves to gut Voice of America

Late last month, we learned of three consequential pieces of personnel news related to Voice of America, the overseas broadcaster that is funded by the US government but designed to be editorially independent of it. First, it was announced that Kari Lake—a local news anchor turned 2020 election denier and failed Republican candidate for office—would be joining the US Agency for Global Media, the body that oversees VOA, as a special adviser; Trump had tapped her to lead VOA outright, but her appointment had stalled. The next day, USAGM placed Steve Herman, a high-profile VOA journalist, on “excused absence” pending an HR probe that would, it seemed, decide whether his social media activity was excessively anti-Trump. The same day, Patsy Widakuswara, VOA’s White House bureau chief, was involuntarily reassigned to a new beat. Her last day on White House “pool duty” came last week, when she covered a St. Patrick’s–adjacent Oval Office visit by Micheál Martin, the Irish taoiseach. Widakuswara asked Martin to respond to Trump’s plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, but before he could respond, Trump interjected, denying that anyone was expelling Palestinians and asking Widakuswara who she worked for. When she replied, Trump visibly scoffed. “No wonder,” he said, then flicked his hand dismissively.