WATCH: Trump calls PBS and NPR a ‘waste of money’ as funding bill signs

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that PBS and NPR are a “waste of money”, after he persuaded the Republican-led Congress to defund US public media last year.

Watch the clip in the video player above.

The president made the comment moments before signing legislation passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the day to fund most of the government through the end of September and end the partial government shutdown.

He watches: The House of Representatives approves a draft law on government funding to end the partial closure

Trump’s comments were not the first time he has referenced PBS and NPR. Earlier in the year, the president incorrectly said during a White House press conference that he had heard the two networks were “shut down.”

While the elimination of federal funding and the dissolution of CPB have led to layoffs, program cancellations, and operational changes at stations across the country, PBS and NPR continue to broadcast news, arts, and other programming on television, radio, and online platforms.

The Trump administration signed legislation last summer to restore about $1.1 billion in previously approved federal funding for public broadcasting. The move primarily affected the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), an independent nonprofit organization that distributed federal funds to PBS, NPR, public media programs, and more than 1,500 local stations. The company’s board of directors voted earlier this year to dissolve itself in January.