New Orleans natives and jazz icons Wynton Marsalis and Jon Batiste dropped by CBS This Morning yesterday to talk about the legacy of composer and pianist John Lewis, but the conversation eventually turned to politics.

When asked about President Trump’s proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts, Marsalis made an impassioned defense of public funding for the arts.

“There’s so much wrong with so much that’s going on in our politics, not just directed at him,” Marsalis told co-host Norah O’Donnell. “We’re swinging back and forth like a ship listing in the ocean. Your national budget is symbolic. You’re basically telling the world, ‘This is what we as a nation think about our arts,’ which is our collective memory, our wisdom.”

You can watch the discussion below (he NEA cuts come up around 4:50).