Those who linger at the The New Yorker magazine's website eventually see a splash advertising its dedication to "fighting fake stories with real ones." Staff writer John Cassidy's ridiculous assertion that "George Soros Upstaged Donald Trump at Davos" shows that this is clearly false advertising.
Cassidy's story is so fake that it was published on January 25, the day before Trump's major Davos speech.
At 5:15 ET Sunday, Google News proved that Cassidy's claptrap really appeared on Thursday:
Cassidy's claim:
The big news at Davos on Thursday was supposed to be Donald Trump’s arrival.
... But on Thursday night Trump ended up getting upstaged by another elderly Manhattan billionaire: George Soros. As the President was hosting a dinner for various business leaders, Soros was across town, talking about the various threats facing Western democracies, a category in which he included the Trump Administration.
At column's end, Cassidy went weaselly, wrapping with a qualifier:
... for one night, at least, Soros had achieved the virtually impossible, and eclipsed Donald Trump from the headlines.
Cassidy isn't even right about Thursday.
An enterprising Reddit poster noted that Soros didn't have his audience's attention:
I was unable to find Soros's name as having a scheduled event on January 25 in the Forum's program. This may indicate that he was a last-minute addition or perhaps even freelancing "across town," childishly attempting to divert attention from Trump.
Before that, directly contradicting Cassidy's claim, attendees were quite interested in Trump's Thursday arrival. CBS News reported "a growing sense of anticipation among the delegates at the forum."
Later Thursday, Trump had dinner with world business leaders, many of whom detailed substantial investments in their U.S. operations:
The chiefs of German engineering firm Siemens, Norway's energy champion Statoil, and French energy company Total, and German sportswear firm Adidas led the pro-Trump accolades.
The domestic and international press contend that the CEOs only liked Trump because of the recently enacted U.S. tax cuts. (Implied translation: They're all just greedy capitalist pigs.)
Anyone who watches the linked video will recognize that it's more than that, and even more than reductions in U.S. regulations. Even those who disagree with him politically acknowledge that "unlike many politicians ... Trump actually listens."
On Friday, CNN acknowledged that "Trump spoke to a packed conference hall on Friday, and more attendees watched on screens in three overflow rooms."
For decades, George Soros and the initiatives he supports have been a serious worldwide threat to representative governments guided by the will of the people — but John Cassidy is a starry-eyed Soros groupie:
For decades now, Soros, who made his fortune as a speculator and hedge-fund manager, has been championing the values of democracy, pluralism, and individual rights around the world.
The forum identified its sixteen "biggest stories from Davos 2018." Trump's speech was the third item listed (the two ahead of him don't belong there). Soros didn't make the cut.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
