Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center gets touchy whenever it's pointed out that critics of George Soros are leaning into anti-Semitism -- and now it has merged that defensive posture with its fawning over Elon Musk. Joseph Vazquez was stuck with that duty in a May 17 post:
Forbes magazine had an absolute cow over Twitter owner Elon Musk calling out leftist billionaire George Soros’ nutty open society agenda.
Forbes railed against Musk for daring to criticize Soros and accused him of “closely mirror[ing] right-wing conspiracy talking points about the billionaire.” Musk mocked Soros on Twitter following news of the billionaire completely divesting from Tesla stock: “Soros reminds me of Magneto.” Forbes exploited the conniptions of leftist Twitter users to accuse Musk of “repeating antisemitic tropes.” The headline was laced with agitprop: “Musk Fans Conspiracies About George Soros After Billionaire’s Fund Dumps All Tesla Holdings.”
Anti-trump obsessed Twitter personality Brian Krassenstein tried to pull the race card on Musk’s comparison by pointing out Soros and Magneto’s common Jewish origins, which literally had nothing to do with Musk’s tweet. “Soros, also a Holocaust survivor, get's attacked nonstop for his good intentions which some Americans think are bad merely because they disagree with this political affiliations,” tweeted Krassenstein. But Soros and “good intentions” is an oxymoron, and Musk was quick to point that out: “You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.”
Forbes attempted to victimize Soros in a tweet of its story: “Musk was called out for using antisemitic tropes to attack Soros, who has been the target of multiple right-wing conspiracy theories.”
Vazquez cannot possibly know whether Musk's Soros-Magneto crack "literally had nothing to do" with Jewishness, since he cited no evidence that Musk denied there was such a link and he presumably cannot read Musk's mind. Vazquez then tried to justify his irrational anti-Soros rage (which theMRC pays him well to spout):
But media outlets and leftists whipping out the race card to insulate Soros and demonize critics isn’t new. In fact, MRC Business conducted a massive three-part study showing how Soros spending millions to buy influence in major media around the world have pretty much secured him an elaborate shield, which includes creating the false impression that anyone who criticizes Soros at all is anti-Semitic.
Soros is notorious for his virulent opposition to American nationalism and sovereignty, and he isn’t even shy about it. Soros advocated in Open Society: Reforming Global Capitalism (2000) for an “Open Society Alliance” led by “developed democracies.” He said the United States “must subordinate our sovereignty” and lambasted America as the “greatest obstacle to establishing the rule of law in international affairs.” But it gets worse. Soros doesn’t even attempt to mince words about what his wild open society philosophy undergirded by abortion, Marxist economics, anti-Americanism, defunding the police, environmental extremism and LGBT fanaticism means when taken to its logical conclusion.
[...]
In essence, Musk was right, and Forbes’ impulsive ploy to defend Soros looks ridiculous in retrospect.
Vazquez didn't explain how, exactly, Soros wanting more of an international role in the rule of law made Musk right "in essence" in claiming that Soros "hates humanity."
Luis Cornelio cranked out his own defense of Musk the same day:
Twitter owner Elon Musk is doubling down on his defense of freedom of speech, despite CNBC trying to grill him over his tweets.
In a CNBC interview Tuesday, Musk stood stunned when CNBC Squawk on the Street co-anchor David Faber asked why the Twitter owner shared his opinions of George Soros on social media. Faber claimed that Musk’s unfiltered speech hurt his companies’ financial stakes. But Musk, who has made freedom of speech the bedrock for Twitter 2.0, didn’t back down: “I will say what I want to say. If the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.”
Faber brought up a May 15 tweet in which Musk ripped Soros for seeking to “erode the fabric of humanity” and asked whether Musk cared about losing advertisers. “You just don't care? You want to share what you have to say?” Faber asked. Referencing a line from The Princess Bride(1987), a fired-up Musk had stated during the tense exchange: "I don't care."
Cornelio curiously failed to report that after Faber asked his question, there was 12 awkward seconds of dead silence before Musk spouted his bizarre "Princess Bride" reference.
Cornelio followed by echoing Vazquez in claiming something he cannot possibly know about Musk's Soros-Magneto tweet:
“You tweeted today this thing about George Soros,” Faber said in reference to Musk’s criticism of the leftist billionaire. “You said, ‘[Soros] wants to erode the very fabric of civilization, and Soros hates humanity,” the CNBC reporter continued. Musk answered: “That's true. That's my opinion.“ Musk’s tweet alleging Soros wants to “erode” civilization came as a response to infamous anti-Trump personality Brian Krassenstein, who invoked the race card on Musk’s Magneto comparison by pointing to both the supervillain and Soros’ common Jewish origins. Race, however, had nothing to do with Musk’s tweet.
Vazquez returned for a May 18 post lashing out at more critics of Musk's attack on Soros:
Both New York Magazine Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher and MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle clearly don’t understand the American principle of free speech. And neither appear to know who George Soros is.
Following Twitter owner Elon Musk’s criticism of the leftist billionaire’s gambit to “erode the very fabric of civilization” on his social media platform, Ruhle went apoplectic in a May 16 interview with Fisher on MSNBC’s 11th Hour: “Why is Elon Musk permitted by shareholders, employees, his board to behave in a way that no other CEO in the world can act?” So-called tech journalist Swisher harrumphed that Musk is “steeped in this stuff, it looks like. I don’t think he’s just playing around. I don’t think he’s just saying what he wants. I think he’s starting to believe this stuff.” Swisher went back to the leftist well and quipped that “misinformation ultimately grabs people’s heads and squeezes it dry.” Later in the segment, Swisher accused Musk of having a “god complex” because of his supposed tendency of “saying things over and over again so that they’re true.”
For Swisher to accuse Musk of having a “god complex” while Soros is in the same conversation sounds like harebrained satire. Soros admitted in his magnum opus, The Alchemy of Finance, that he “always harbored” an “exaggerated view” of his “self-importance.” He continued: “[T]o put it bluntly, I fancied myself as some kind of god or economic reformer like [John Maynard] Keynes (each with his General Theory) or, even better, a scientist like Einstein.”’
To put a point on it, Soros’ own “god” complex is reflected in the ungodly fortunes he’s spent manipulating media and politics around the world to fit his distorted view of an “open society,” even if it means knee-capping national sovereignty. As he said in Soros on Soros: Staying Ahead of the Curve: “‘Of course, what I do could be called meddling, because I want to promote an open society. An open society transcends national sovereignty.’”
A quote from Soros chronicled in late New York Times reporter Michael T. Kaufman’s book Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire summarizes how he seeks to encourage the global society to adopt his leftist ideology: “‘Yes, I do have a foreign policy, and now I have it more consciously. My goal is to become the conscience of the world.’” In 2019, Soros told The New York Times that “‘[t]he arc of history doesn’t follow its own course. It needs to be bent.’” He continued: “‘I am really engaged in trying to bend it in the right direction.’”
Oh, but it's Musk who has an issue with a “god complex,” right Swisher?
We suspect that Vazquez has never described the money from right-wing billionaires that seek to change the world by funding the MRC -- and, thus, his paycheck -- as being "ungodly." (The MRC has previously ranted about Soros criticizing Trump as a narcissist while accusing him of being a "self-absorbed billionaire.)
The same day, Tom Olohan whined about another Musk critic:
A prominent leftist talking head at CNN just went all-in on a smear campaign, egging on his guests to paint Elon Musk as an anti-Semite for daring to call out leftist billionaire George Soros.
On May 17th, CNN anchor Jake Tapper spoke to CNN Analyst Sara Fischer and former Congressman Ted Deutch about three recent Musk tweets about Soros. After introducing leftist billionaire Soros as a “philanthropist”, Tapper said that Musk “launched a baseless twitter attack against George Soros, the progressive Jewish philanthropist, who has been the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.” Tapper emphasized insane interpretations of Musk’s tweets on the leftist mega donor, including a tweet comparing Soros to fictional supervillain Magneto. While Tapper hid behind the words “critics say” and let his guests do most of his dirty work, he said this later in the interview:
“Its interesting, in terms of how Elon Musk has chosen to run the platform. He’s constantly engaging with people who are bad faith actors, I mean, people who subscribe to QAnon, people who are white supremacists, people who are focused on black-and-white violence, I mean he’s, people who criticize diversity in Hollywood casting, I mean these are choices he’s making.” No question followed, as Tapper was simply trying to elicit more criticism of Musk from his guests.
Olohan offered no evidence that Tapper is "leftist." He then tried to retcon Musk's tweet to prove he was right that Soros "hates humanity," starting with a rant about "Soros' litany of leftist prosecutors he backs who share his soft-on-crime philosophy":
While encouraging a criminal justice approach that makes Americans unsafe is serious, this is not the only reason why Soros might be said to “hate humanity.” Soros has also financed Planned Parenthood’s slaughter of millions of unborn babies, donating over $21 million to Planned Parenthood and affiliated organizations since 2016, while also donating tens of millions from 2000 to 2014. Soros has also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to NARAL and four other organizations that promote abortion, while giving millions to another.
Olohan didn't explain how, exactly, Soros believing that women should be able to make their own choices about having children equates to "hating humanity."
