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GWAR leader Blothar the Berserker has taken umbrage with Donald Trump’s bill that threatens to cut funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Servce (PBS), issuing a PSA encouraging fans to “rise up” via social media.
Trump’s bill was advanced by Senate Republicans on Tuesday (July 15th) after Vice President J.D. Vance broke a 50-50 tie with a deciding vote, per a report by PBS.
The bill — which cuts $9 billion in government spending, including $1.1 billion in pre-approved funds for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — will now undergo a final Senate vote as early as Wednesday (July 17th) before returning to the House for another vote. If passed, it would hit Trump’s desk for his signature before the Friday deadline.
In a rare move for Blothar, the GWAR frontman dropped his often sarcastic persona to take a serious tone with fans via Instagram. In the PSA, he explained that the loss of pre-approved funds for public broadcasting would affect publicly funded TV and radio stations across the country, including many rural public radio stations that could shutdown due to the lack of funding.
“This could very well silence the music,” Blothar said after listing many of the other positive things brought about by public radio and broadcasting, such as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street. “It’s gonna take away art and culture from the lives of people, or at least access to that.”
Blothar continued: “Rise up people! In the name of Fred Rogers, in the name of Big Bird, and the drunken Lady Elaine Fairchild, changes to this bill are still possible. Now is the time to urge your senator to remove the proposal that targets public media from the package of this ‘big beautiful bill.’ I urge you to go to protectmypublicmedia.org and get some information on how you can urge congress to save public media. Call your senators. Make a difference. Do it now because there’s not a lot of time!”
The political activism from GWAR isn’t quite as surprising as you’d think. The Scumdogs have been outspoken opponents of Trump over the years and tend stand on the right side of history — i.e. the one time drummer JiZMak Da Gusha visited the defaced statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond and exclaimed, “F**k that guy!”
After you’re done calling your senator on Blothar’s advice, chill out with some Bud of Gods CBD and plan your next GWAR show. The band continues to tour relentlessly, with a fall trek with Helmet and The Dwarves on the horizon. Get tickets here.
Below you can hear Blothar’s full PSA on the importance of public media.
English (US) · 