--- title: Watch Boy Ask Tom Cotton About PBS, Parks, Trump Wall VIDEO description: A young fan confronted Senator Tom Cotton during a town hall in Arkansas about the possibility of losing PBS and parks to the border wall. canonical: https://time.com/4680500/tom-cotton-pbs-parks-wall/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T18:43:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:53.244Z og:title: 7-Year-Old Asks Tom Cotton About Losing PBS to Border Wall og:description: "He is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall" og:url: https://time.com/4680500/tom-cotton-pbs-parks-wall/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltebaebde5161bacd7/6988bb9bcf40a8a47bc4693a/tom-cotton-7-year-old-pbs-parks-wall.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Senate Armed Services Committee Holds Hearing On Situation In Afghanistan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7-Year-Old Asks Tom Cotton About Losing PBS to Border Wall twitter:description: "He is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltebaebde5161bacd7/6988bb9bcf40a8a47bc4693a/tom-cotton-7-year-old-pbs-parks-wall.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch This Brave 7-Year-Old Boy Confront Senator Tom Cotton on Trump's Border Wall ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. "He is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall"_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 23, 2017 6:43 PM UTC  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Feb 23, 2017 6:43 PM UTC During a town hall in Springdale, Arkansas on Wednesday, [Senator Tom Cotton](http://time.com/4412018/republican-convention-tom-cotton-speech-transcript/) fielded questions from his constituents that ranged from [the planned repeal of the Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/4642088/trump-inauguration-obamacare-repeal-order/) to [the potential elimination of federal agencies and programs](http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/). During the event, Cotton’s constituents were not shy about vocalizing their concerns, but one young citizen, in particular, stood out for his forthrightness in holding the senator accountable. Toby Smith, a 7-year-old student, expressed concern for the way that [President Trump has talked about Mexico](http://time.com/4679821/trump-mexico-tillerson-kelly-immigration/) and what the greater ramifications of [building a wall at the Mexico border would mean](http://time.com/4646273/donald-trump-wall-mexico-border-immigration/). “Donald Trump makes Mexicans not important to people who are in Arkansas who like Mexicans,” Smith said. “He is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall and he shouldn’t do that. He shouldn’t do all that stuff just for the wall.” Cotton attempted to reassure Smith by telling him that “we are a melting pot” and offering rationale for the wall construction. “We want Mexico to be a healthy, strong partner,” Cotton said. “But we also have to protect our own citizens, and that’s where the wall comes in.” Watch Toby at the town hall above. 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