By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-31 15:17:17 | Updated at 2025-04-03 22:04:06
3 days ago
President Donald Trump reshared a post on X raising questions about National Public Radio CEO Katherine Maher’s role on the board of Signal, the encrypted messaging app used for communications.
‘Katherine Maher, the leftist NPR CEO, is currently the Chair of the Board of Signal!’ wrote X user ‘Publius’ on the platform and added, ‘WHAT ARE THE ODDS?’
The use of Signal by Trump's national security team was uncovered after editor of The Atlantic Magazine was mistakenly added to a group chat discussing an upcoming strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Although National Security Advisor Michael Waltz took responsibility for the mistake, Trump has raised questions about the security and reliability of the app since the incident happened.
The Publius account added to conversation a May 2024 article by journalist Christopher Rufo, investigating Signal’s relationship with the United States intelligence community as well as Maher’s role as chair of the board.
Maher began her career working for the National Democratic Institute, a government funded NGO supporting dissidents in authoritarian regimes, before shifting into media and digital communications.
Maher also served at the CEO of Wikimedia, the company that owns Wikipedia before taking the job at National Public Radio.
Rufo shared concerns that Maher’s belief in internet censorship made her fundamentally unsuited for a role on the board of Signal, an app that supports freedom of communication.
President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) Katherine Maher
A mobile device displays the Signal company logo
Maher’s role leading National Public Radio has come under further scrutiny Congress began last week conducting hearings the publicly funded institution’s bias against Republicans and conservatives.
She has a long history of left-leaning biases as the ideology of NPR has drifted further to the left under her leadership.
Maher criticized president Trump as a ‘deranged racist sociopath,’ criticized the country of being founded on ‘black plunder and white democracy’ and that America was ‘addicted to white supremacy.’
Republicans also raised questions about Maher’s critical comments about the First Amendment being the ‘number one challenge’ to her desire to censor content online and her efforts to deplatform people she disagrees with have raised concerns from Republicans who believe it is time to stop publicly funding NPR.
President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) Katherine Maher looks on before a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency hearing
Famously liberal talk show host Bill Maher recently endorsed the idea of defunding NPR on his show on Friday.
'Give me a break, lady!' he said, referring to Katherine Maher's assertion that the news outlet was 'completely unbiased.'
'I mean, they’re crazy far left. So, I mean, I think we’re past, my view, we’re past the age really, where the government, first of all, why do we need to subsidize — why can’t we have outlets like this and we’re so polarized,' he said. 'These outlets became popular at a time when Republicans and Democrats didn't hate each other.'
