NPR on Thursday said it wouldn’t be covering a controversial report about a laptop supposedly belonging to Hunter Biden that allegedly contained emails revealing his foreign business dealings — calling the issue a ''distraction.''
Managing editor Terence Samuels tweeted the explanation in response to why it hasn’t followed the controversy in the wake of an initial report by the New York Post.
''We don’t want to waste our time on satires that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions,'' he wrote.
The explanation bombed with some posters, including President Donald Trump’s eldest son, who demanded: ''Defund NPR.''
''American taxpayer dollars should not be out there being utilized to push false propaganda and cover up for Joe Biden’s corruption!'' Donald Trump Jr. fumed.
In short order, YouTube commentator Steven Crowder, Trump campaign honcho Jason Miller, and GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona all agreed.
Trump himself in January seemed to suggest the same thing, retweeting commentator Mark Levin’s question: ''Why does NPR still exist?''
Other like-minded critics were also appalled at NPR’s stand.
Commentator Leonydus Johnson lamented, ''Our news media is wholly corrupt and they don't even care if you know it.'' And National Republican Senatorial Committee senior adviser Matt Whitlock called NPR’s explanation ''a bizarre position from a media company.''
''If you're not going to cover an issue, don't. But this statement is going to look incredibly stupid if this story continues to develop,'' he noted.
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