A week after reports were floated suggesting that the Trump administration would seek to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the two agencies have received enthusiastic support from unexpected quarters: Secretary of State designate Rex Tillerson.
In a pair of tweets posted yesterday, Tillerson wrote:
As the now former CEO of ExxonMobil, Tillerson oversaw the company’s aggressive support of cultural groups, including the also-threatened Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in the U.S, and globally through the ExxonMobil Foundation. It’s traditionally a key way of cultivating good pubic relations while promoting the brand. In 2015, worldwide corporate and ExxonMobil Foundation contributions supporting arts and cultural programs totaled more than $3.6 million, according to a company statement, of which $3 million benefited communities in the United States.
The two endowments each currently receive $148 million a year. The Tillerson tweets were first reported by broadwayjournal.com.