Who, exactly, made the decision to shut down the Stars and Stripes?

[Baitball Blogger]

Does anyone know the timeline?

Some say that Trump sought to defund the paper. Is there a link somewhere? I have a Politico article that suggests that Trump had an animosity for the paper and Esper cut it from the budget. Was this a cause and effect scenario?

"The order to halt publication by Sept. 30, and dissolve the organization by the end of January, is the latest salvo in the Pentagon's move earlier this year to cut the $15.5 million in funding for the paper from the department's budget. And it is a reflection of the Trump administration's broader animosity for the media and members of the press."


https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/04/pentagon-halts-stars-and-stripes-newspaper-408945

Forbes has a meek comment on the subject: "However, the Trump administration had previously told the newspaper to brace for dissolution by September 15, according to a USA Today article published Friday morning."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/09/04/trump-after-outcry-reverses-decision-to-shut-down-stars-and-stripes/#666d694d36d7

Is there a link that can pin the decision on Trump, directly?

I just can't see Esper making this decision on his own,

[beachbumbob]

1. Esper followed trumps command as pay back to falling military poll numbers or we have

to believe the order to shutdown S&S 5 days after the military times released its polling data is pure coincidence?

trump ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS reacts to negative/criticisms with vengeance and payback. THIS IS WHO HE IS AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN

and why he is a POS that majority of people are not accustomed to do dealing with and why he gets away with it.

Not this fucking time

[MartyTheGreek]

2. Around the time Stars and Stripes published poor ratings for Trump...

I want to say, nearly a year ago and there was a story out about Trump wanted to shut the military publication down. More military members dis-approved of Trump than approved or something like that.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Can you remember the source?

Sounds like the root story.

[MartyTheGreek]

5. Dec 2019 Article by S&S - Days following a call went out to shut it down... Still looking...

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/12/17/half-of-active-duty-service-members-are-unhappy-with-trump-new-military-times-poll-shows/

"Half of active-duty military personnel contacted in the poll held an unfavorable view of President Trump, showing a continued decline in his approval rating since he was elected in 2016.

Trump’s 42 percent approval in the latest poll, conducted from Oct. 23 to Dec. 2, sets his lowest mark in the survey since being elected president. Some 50 percent of troops said they had an unfavorable view of him. By comparison, just a few weeks after his electoral victory in November 2016, 46 percent of troops surveyed had a positive view of the businessman-turned-politician, and 37 percent had a negative opinion."

[Baitball Blogger]

7. December 2019. Wow! That's a smoking gun.

Thank you!

[Maeve]

4. The president's 2021 budget defunded it

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s fiscal year 2021 budget request would strip Stars and Stripes of all its federal funding, more than $15 million annually, a Defense Department official said Wednesday, as lawmakers and others defended the editorially independent news organization.

The budget request unveiled Monday seeks to cut all of Stars and Stripes’ DOD funding — about $15.5 million per year, which the Pentagon wants to reinvest in functions that it considers more critical for warfighting, said Marine Lt. Col. Chris Logan, a spokesman for Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist. Stars and Stripes receives about $8.7 million annually in operations and maintenance funds and about $6.9 million in contingency operations funds to support news reporting in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

The cut to Stars and Stripes’ annual Pentagon subsidy equals about half of the news organization’s annual funds to pay expenses. Stars and Stripes’ remaining money comes from sales, subscriptions and advertising.

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/dod-budget-proposal-cuts-all-funding-to-stars-and-stripes-lawmakers-others-back-news-organization-1.618500 (dated Feb 12, 2020)

[Baitball Blogger]

6. I need the link to convince a right-winger. Unfortunately, the article doesn't

specifically mention the "President's 2021 budget" so he'll never believe this wasn't straight from the Pentagon and that Trump had nothing to do with it.

[Maeve]

8. Ok, this one says Esper's office pushed it

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/dod-proposes-stripping-stars-and-stripes-funding-in-2021-budget-request-1.618273

Esper has said since his Senate confirmation to become defense secretary that he would review the Pentagon’s spending on support agencies that aren’t directly involved in warfighting, including so-called Fourth Estate programs.

“We will reform the department, beginning with the Fourth Estate,” Esper said during his confirmation hearing in July 2019. “No reform is too small.”

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Wow. As early as July 2019.

And the Stars and Strips article mentioned by Marty the Greek came out on December 2019.

Motive and Opportunity. Thank you.

[Maeve]

10. He probably wouldn't accept this from the WashPost, tho

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-is-the-stars-and-stripes-military-newspaper-on-trumps-chopping-block/2020/06/26/f3d649f2-b65b-11ea-a8da-693df3d7674a_story.html

So why is this news organization, with its important mission and a storied history that dates to the Civil War, on the Trump administration’s chopping block? The president’s fiscal 2021 budget would eliminate funding for Stars and Stripes, essentially forcing it to cease operation. The news organization, which produces daily newspapers for U.S. troops across the world and a constantly updated website, is part of the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity but retains editorial independence and is mandated by Congress to be governed by First Amendment principles.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. I found a great quote, in of all places, the USA Today.

But, you showed me what to look for.

"The memo ordering the publication’s dissolution claims the administration has the authority to make this move under the president’s fiscal year 2021 defense department budget request. It zeroed out the $15.5 million annual subsidy for Stars and Stripes. But Congress, which under the Constitution has the power to make decisions about how the public’s money is spent, has not yet approved the president’s request."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/09/04/trump-and-stars-and-stripes-attacking-american-icon-column/5706859002/

[eppur_se_muova]

11. 'Will no one rid me of this turbulent paper?' ... No need to issue a direct order, just ...

make it clear that the outcome would please you, and wait for it to be done.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. A Side Note

The entire budgeted amount for S&S is the same as 8 Tomahawk missiles. And, we're not using the Tomahawks we have!
It's 1/8th the cost of ONE F35B. One less plane over 8 years, funds the paper for all those years.
It is not logical to presume that $15 million is really for cost savings.
There are thousands of other ways to prioritize defense spending.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. +1

I did conclude that Trump, through Esper, wanted the paper gone.

This was my response to the right-winger:

Let's look at the Timeline: In June 2019, Trump appointed Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense. We all know how Trump operates. He appoints loyalists. From the beginning, Esper said there would be budget cuts: "Esper has said since his Senate confirmation to become defense secretary that he would review the Pentagon’s spending on support agencies that aren’t directly involved in warfighting, including so-called Fourth Estate programs.

“We will reform the department, beginning with the Fourth Estate,” Esper said during his confirmation hearing in July 2019. “No reform is too small.” This was in July 2019, as reported in the Stripes.

In the months that followed, both the Stripes and The Military Times would post articles or polls, unfavorable to the president. And we all know how much Trump hates the media. So the budget cut request was sent to Congress, and directly tied to the Administration: Per USAToday:

"The memo ordering the publication’s dissolution claims the administration has the authority to make this move under the president’s fiscal year 2021 defense department budget request. It zeroed out the $15.5 million annual subsidy for Stars and Stripes. "

And finally, almost hidden in a caption in Forbes magazine: "The Trump administration previously ordered the paper's dissolution" So, yes, this happened because Trump wanted it to happen.