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7-year-old to senator: Don’t take away PBS to build the wall

Posted at 7:17 AM, Feb 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-23 07:17:34-05

It was a tense town hall in Springdale, Arkansas, but one little boy and his question about the border wall stole the show.

As GOP Sen. Tom Cotton's town hall was coming to a close, he took one final question from the crowd. The participant was a 7-year-old boy. As Cotton pointed to the crowd, asking for the last question, the boy spoke up, "I'm Toby."

"Donald Trump makes Mexicans not important to people who are in Arkansas who like Mexicans, like me, my grandma," Toby Smith said.

"And he is deleting all the parks and PBS Kids just to make a wall ... and he shouldn't do that," said Toby, voicing fears of some that the Trump administration will cut financial support to the National Park Service and public television.

The constituents in the crowded auditorium cheered and applauded Toby as he addressed the congressman.

"He shouldn't do all that stuff just for the wall."

"Toby, how old are you?" Cotton asked.

"I'm almost 8, but I'm 7."

Speaking to CNN affiliate KATV after the town hall, Toby said "People like parks, people like PBS kids, and the Mexican wall, people like Mexicans."

#Toby4President posted one person on Twitter.