It's sadly fitting that the
National Endowment for the Arts, one of the latest targets of President-elect Trump’s insatiable pique, began as an act of hope. While the idea that the arts “have a primary claim” on patriotic Americans can be traced back to a
quote from George Washington, the New Deal established the first major federal arts funding for the practical reason of creating jobs during the Depression. By contrast, the 1965 creation of the NEA under President Lyndon B. Johnson embodied, as a
history of the agency notes, only “idealistic optimism” that “functioned purely as an escalation of the spirit.” Pretty stirring, right?
Well, say goodbye to that hopey, changey stuff. According to a new report in
The Hill, the NEA would be “eliminated entirely” under plans Trump transition staffers are sharing with career White House employees. Same goes for the
National Endowment for the Humanities, another independent federal grantmaking agency that was established in 1965 alongside the NEA. The
Corporation for Public Broadcasting would, paradoxically, “be privatized.” Artists needn’t feel lonely; the cutbacks would be part of a broader tightening of the purse strings at the departments of Commerce, Energy, Transportation, Justice, and State.
What’s at Stake if Trump Kills the National Endowment for the Arts | Pitchfork
