Some supporters of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are arguing that his recent meeting with philanthropist Alex Soros wasn’t a smart move.
The complaints began after Soros, who took over his father George’s multi-billion dollar philanthropic enterprise last year, shared photos of the meeting on Tuesday in a post to X.
“Honored to host Governor @Tim_Walz at my home in New York City!” Soros said.
Soros, much like his father, is a frequent target of the right and is often attacked for funding left-wing causes. That only intensified this year after Soros announced his engagement to ex-Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin, who QAnon believers think is guily of myraid crimes.
As expected, conservatives immediately leapt onto the post from Soros in an effort to attack Walz. But those on the left appear conflicted as well, saying the post is more harmful than helpful.
“I know it’s stupid but I just wouldn’t get myself into this photo 7 weeks before an election I wanted to win,” user @AliceFromQueens wrote, adding that it was the “worst possible” optics.
Another user pointed out that meeting with a billionaire in their high-rise apartment isn’t a move that will appeal to most middle-class voters, especially when the Harris-Walz campaign already has plenty of cash on hand.
“The campaign has like 300 million dollars and there’s 40 days left, we don’t even need to do these events,” user Conor Rogers added.
Numerous journalists weighed in as well, including MSNBC columnist Zeeshan Aleem.
“Unclear how either party benefits from this,” he said.
Vox co-founder and political pundit Mathhew Yglesias also weighed in with a reply to Soros’ post.
“With respect, probably not helpful for you to put yourself in the story like this,” he said.
Although the meeting is unlikely to cause any significant impact to the Harris-Walz campaign, the backlash signifies both the public’s general disdain for billionaires’ influence on the political system and an awareness of the right-wing conspiracy mill that can be kicked into overdrive in an instant.
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