George Soros on Lifelong Funding of Leftwing Causes: ‘Tide Has Turned Against Me’

Billionaire George Soros, who has spent his fortune promoting leftwing politicians, media, and organizations, said over the weekend that he hasn’t failed in his lifelong quest to put socialism in place in the United States, but has been impeded by his opposition, including President Donald Trump.

“Between the election of President Trump and Britain’s ongoing debate over Brexit, the billionaire philanthropist George Soros recognizes that populism is on the rise and that his brand of liberal democracy is faltering,” said Michel Martin, host of All Things Considered on taxpayer-funded National Public Radio (NPR).

Soros also has supported NPR, including $1.8 million given to the media outlet in 2011.

“When I got involved in what I call political philanthropy some 40 years ago, the open society idea was on the ascendant — closed societies were opening up,” Soros said. “And now, open societies are on the defensive and dictatorships are on the rise.”

“I have to admit that the tide has turned against me, but I don’t think that I have failed,” Soros said.

NPR portrayed Soros as a benign philanthropist who wants to promote democracy.

“That includes more than $32 billion in giving to his own international network of grant makers, the Open Society Foundations, which has worked to promote democracy in some 120 nations,” Martin said.

Also among his beneficiaries was presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton who got a $25,100 donation from Soros for her 2016 campaign.

The interview was to promote Soros’ new book In Defense of Open Society that “compiles a selection of his (often worrisome) essays in which Soros muses on what he views as modern threats to democratic societies — including social media and artificial intelligence, particularly when used by authoritarian regimes to manipulate the public.”

Soros, 89, said his priority now is fighting Trump’s alleged threat to the 2020 election.

“My foundation and I’m personally very much engaged in fighting voter suppression, trying to get a proper census and things like that that will lead to a fair election because those conditions are also endangered by the current president,” Soros said.

Soros stopped short of endorsing 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), but said she is “the clear-cut person to beat.”

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