Billionaire investor/philanthropist George Soros has been in the news quite a bit recently. Soros’s latest venture is to donate $10 million from his own foundation to stamp out “hate speech” in America.
Soros, whose Jewish family faced persecution in Hungary from the Germans during World War II, has been “deeply troubled” by what he sees as the rise in “incendiary rhetoric” ever since the election of Donald Trump. Soros is particularly worried about the rise of neo-Nazi rhetoric in public and online, especially the increase of swastika graffiti across the USA.
This large donation is a part of Soros’s crusade against what he calls the “dark forces” of fascism. He said he feels an obligation to use his wealth and prominence to combat the hatred he has seen escalating ever since November 8th.
Interestingly, many groups across the nation that have actively voiced concerns about a Trump presidency have received large donations since Election Day. Just a few of these organizations include the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
This is not the first time that George Soros has made a huge contribution towards liberal causes. In fact, Soros is the top donor for Democratic causes in recent history. It’s no secret that Soros was one of the largest backers of both President Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. While liberals love Soros, conservatives see him as one of the most sinister men on the planet. Many on the right have actually likened Soros to Emperor Palpatine in the Star Wars series.
Over the next few weeks, Soros’s nonprofit group, which is called the Open Society Foundations, is set to donate $5 million to various groups. This money will be sent to civil liberties organizations in the form of fund grants. These grants will all have specific instructions to develop strategies for combatting “hate speech” across the nation.
Soros also intends to give some of the money to governmental organizations tracking both “hate speech” and “hate crimes.” It has been reported by the F.B.I. that hate crimes rose 67 percent since last year against Muslims. Also, the Southern Poverty Law Center said that over 700 harassment cases were filed after Election Day. While the targets of many of these attacks were immigrants and Muslims, there were also a few Donald Trump supporters who were attacked by liberals.
Although Soros said these donations were not overtly “anti-Trump,” he has criticized the President-elect’s rhetoric on the campaign trail. Soros believes many of Trump’s comments have led to the rise in violence across the nation.
President-elect Donald Trump has strong words against the rise in hate crimes following his election on 60 Minutes. Trump said that he was “saddened” to hear that many of his supporters attacked minorities on and after Election Day. He then looked directly into the camera and told anyone engaged in violence to “stop it.”
Liberals have criticized the support Trump has garnered from nationalist and white supremacist groups throughout the 2016 campaign. Trump, however, denies affiliation with these groups. Concerning these groups, Trump told reporters “I disavow and condemn them.”