"...will never succeed in eliminating CPB. Never"

That's what they told Reagan, too, according to Forbes.  

"(During Ronald Reagan's presidency, public television lost its funding.)"

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2017/03/16/trumps-budget-wont-kill-big-bird-but-it-may-make-him-endangered/#7946b4f0404b