In a recent development, the president of The Nation, a left-leaning publication, has refuted claims made by Vice President JD Vance that the magazine is financially backed by George Soros, a billionaire financier known for his support of radical left-wing causes.
Vance's allegations came in the wake of a controversial column published by The Nation, in which the late conservative figurehead Charlie Kirk was likened to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbles and labeled as a bigot.
The contentious piece, penned by former Gawker editor Elizabeth Spiers, was titled "Charlie Kirks Legacy Deserves No Mourning" and was featured prominently in the magazine. Vance, while guest hosting The Charlie Kirk Show, criticized the publication for its alleged ties to Soros, stating, "The Nation isnt a fringe blog. Its a well-funded, well-respected magazine whose publishing history goes back to the American Civil War. George Soross Open Society Foundation funds this magazine."
However, Bhaskar Sunkara, the President of The Nation, swiftly denied Vance's assertions. In a statement posted on X, Sunkara, who identifies as a "democratic socialist," said, "Im not sure where hes getting his information, but JD Vance is lying about The Nation magazine. Wed welcome donations from anyone who respects our editorial independence, but were not funded, not one dime, by Soros or Open Society Foundation."
Despite Sunkara's denial, according to Breitbart, the publication has indeed received substantial funding from Soros. NewsBusters, a project of the Media Research Center, reports that The Nation was directly affiliated with the nonprofit media outfit The Nation Institute, which received at least $1,349,000 from Soross organizations between 2004 and 2019. In 2019, The Nation Institute rebranded to become the Type Media Center, but the connection between the two entities remains.
The MacArthur Foundation, another left-leaning donor organization, described the relationship between The Nation and the Type Media Center in a 2023 grant for $325,000. Furthermore, NewsBusters' report shows a recent grant to the Center in 2022 of $150,000, awarded to "build a more equitable future in the field of public interest journalism by strengthening publishing and independent media."
Conservative figures were quick to criticize Sunkara's denial of Soros's funding. Top Trump advisor Alex Brusewitz posted on X, "Your non-profit took over $1 million from George Soros, then you slandered my friend Charlie Kirk while his body was still warm. You are a horrible person." Ryan Girdusky, another popular conservative commentator, echoed these sentiments, calling Sunkara's denial a "total lie."
Jack Posobiec, a popular conservative and friend of Kirks, accused The Nation of using a "standard leftist media tactic to hide the money they take from far-left NGOs."
While hosting Kirk's show, Vance also refuted the false claims made by Spiers in her controversial article. He argued that Kirk "made an argument for judging people of all races and backgrounds by their own individual merits" in the argument cited by Spiers.
Vance further criticized the publication, stating, "the very evidence she provides, this hack of a writer shows that she lied about a dead man, and yet she wrote it, an esteemed magazine published it, it made it through the editors and, of course, liberal billionaires rewarded that attack."
The Nation later issued a correction, admitting that the article "attributed a quote to Charlie Kirk incorrectly."
It's worth noting that Spiers' former employer, Gawker, filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after a judge awarded Hulk Hogan $115 million in punitive damages for having published a sex tape with him and a friends wife back in 2012. An additional $25 million was awarded to Hogan a week later, bringing the total to $140 million.
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