Regretfully Yours, Katherine Maher NPR CEO

Katherine Maher, the CEO of National Public Radio (NPR) since March 2024, has faced scrutiny over past statements, particularly social media posts and comments made before her NPR tenure. During a March 26, 2025, congressional hearing before the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), she expressed regret for some of these statements, which were raised by Republican lawmakers questioning NPR’s federal funding and alleged bias. 

Here are statements she has publicly regretted:

• In 2018, Maher tweeted, “Also, Donald Trump is a racist.”
• In 2020, she called Trump a “fascist” and a “deranged racist sociopath.”

Maher

Context: These posts were made while Maher was at the Wikimedia Foundation and Web Summit, not in a journalism role. They resurfaced in 2024 after NPR senior editor Uri Berliner’s essay accused NPR of liberal bias, prompting conservative critics to highlight Maher’s past partisanship.

Regret Expressed: During the March 2025 hearing, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) questioned Maher about the 2020 tweet. She responded, “I regret those tweets. I would not tweet them again today. They represented a time where I was reflecting on something that I believe the president had said, rather than who he is. I don’t presume that anyone is a racist.”

Maher told Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) that her thinking had “evolved over the last half-decade,” distancing herself from these statements. She emphasized that the tweets were personal reflections, not indicative of her current views or NPR’s editorial stance.

Tweet About America’s Founding (Date Unspecified, Likely Pre-NPR):

• Content: Maher tweeted that America began in “black plunder and white democracy,” a phrase linked to her reading of The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Context: This statement was cited by Rep. Brandon Gill during the hearing as evidence of Maher’s ideological bias. It was part of a broader list of tweets reflecting progressive views, which critics argued conflicted with NPR’s claim of unbiased reporting.

Regret Expressed: Maher denied recalling the book or the tweet’s context, stating she no longer held that view. When pressed with evidence of the tweet, she acknowledged it but said, “I believe much of my thinking has evolved.” Critics, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, found her retraction unconvincing, noting it lacked a formal apology.

Comments on NPR’s Coverage Mistakes:

• Content: During the same hearing, Maher admitted NPR made mistakes in its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story and the origins of COVID-19 during the 2020 election cycle.

Context: Republicans, citing former NPR editor Uri Berliner’s critiques, accused NPR of dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story as insignificant, which later gained traction. Maher’s acknowledgment came under questioning about NPR’s editorial decisions and perceived bias.

Regret Expressed: Maher conceded these were errors, stating, “The taxpayer-funded outlet made mistakes in its coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story and the origins of COVID-19.” She did not elaborate on specific actions but framed it as a learning opportunity for NPR.

Other Statements Scrutinized (Not Explicitly Regretted):

• Maher’s 2021 TED Talk comment that “our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction” was criticized by Elon Musk and others as dismissive of objective truth. Maher has not publicly retracted this but defended her broader commitment to truth in journalism.
• A 2021 interview where she called the First Amendment “the number one challenge” in combating disinformation drew criticism from conservatives. Maher later clarified she has a “robust belief in the First Amendment” and that her remarks were misrepresented.
• Tweets supporting progressive causes (e.g., Black Lives Matter, “transit justice,” “toxic masculinity”) were highlighted by critics like Christopher Rufo but not directly addressed as regretted by Maher.
• A tweet stating, “I grew up feeling superior. How white of me,” was cited by Rep. Gill, but Maher’s response focused on her evolved thinking rather than explicit regret.

Maher argued that her pre-NPR tweets were made as a private citizen exercising First Amendment rights, not as a journalist. She emphasized NPR’s commitment to “unbiased, nonpartisan, fact-based reporting” and said her past statements do not influence editorial decisions.