CNN’s Scott Jennings called Democrats’ opposition to billionaire Elon Musk “hypocritical” on Sunday, pointing out that some of the party’s politicians have been funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros.
Democrats began ramping up their criticisms of Musk this week after the tech CEO, who has emerged as a prominent figure swaying national politics in recent months, opposed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s original 1,574-page continuing resolution (CR), which included provisions potentially costing hundreds of billions of dollars. On “State of the Union,” CNN host Dana Bash asked Jennings if Musk’s influence could “wear thin” on President-elect Donald Trump.
“I don’t think so. I mean look, they appear to be getting along well,” Jennings said. “Musk was very instrumental in his victory and I hear Democrats criticizing the idea that we have unelected people with too much influence over the government. I invite them to pick up the Wall Street Journal from this week and find out that unelected people have been running the government for the last four years.”
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“I hear Democrats criticizing the influence of billionaires on our politics when you’ve got this Soros punk running around collecting Democrat politicians like my kids collect Pokemon cards,” Jennings continued. “So I think all the criticism of Musk coming from the left is totally hypocritical, totally over-the-top and he is doing something interesting, bringing some transparency to the federal government. It’s not a terrible thing.”
Over the years, Soros, through Soros Fund Management, has supported Democratic politicians and officials as well as Democratic-linked groups — such as those behind many of the pro-Palestine protests on college campuses — by donating millions to advance their causes.
Across the United States, over 20 district attorneys funded by Soros’ management fund are overseeing major cities like New York and Los Angeles, according to Police Defense. Notably, in Los Angeles, the Soros-funded former District Attorney George Gascon was voted out in November after pushing far-left policies like Proposition 47, which ultimately allowed criminals to receive lighter punishment and led small businesses to suffer.
This year alone, according to OpenSecrets, Soros Fund Management donated $173,710 to Democratic congressional candidates, $183,010 to all federal candidates, and $850,000 — the largest donation of the year — to the Texas Organizing Project (TOC). The organization aims to end “mass incarceration that is destroying Black and Latino communities,” and “fix our broken immigration system” to create “a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people who aspire to become American citizens.” According to their site, the TOC’s political action committee states their goal is to “further push the state toward a progressive future that will deliver substantive change and shift more power into the hands of Black and Latino Texans.”
Over the past two years, Soros and his firm have been ramping up their influence over America’s broadcast industry, with his investment firm in February acquiring over $400 million worth of debt owned by the nation’s second-largest network of radio stations, Audacy, as the company worked on a restructuring arrangement that would give debt holders equity stakes proportional to what they’re owed.
Musk’s appearance in the conservative spotlight began after he acquired X, formerly called Twitter, vowing to restore free speech to the platform after many had vocalized concerns about censorship online. Aligning himself with Republican politicians, Musk eventually endorsed Trump and joined him on the trail to key battleground states. On Nov. 12, Trump announced his nomination of Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures and restructure Federal Agencies” through a new commission called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
During his call-out of the bill, Musk urged voters to help push out any House lawmaker who supported the original massive spending bill in 2026. Following the overwhelming criticisms of the CR bill, House lawmakers were able to shrink the measure to just over 110 pages with a second revision, securing the votes needed by Friday evening to push it through to the Senate. Democrats have been largely critical of Musk’s influence, like Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who began referring to him as “President Musk” to condemn his impact over the political process.
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