On the April 13 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage said of Media Matters for America: “They're people who attack me. It's run by a homosexual activist who hates anybody in the media who does not kowtow to the homosexual agenda.” Referring to Media Matters' CEO and President David Brock, Savage added, “The man who runs it is, in my opinion, a straight-out maniac. He would belong much more happily in the ex-Soviet Union.” Savage has previously referred to Media Matters as “a gay website that attacks me every day” and called Brock “a psychopath.”
Savage further claimed on his April 13 show that Media Matters is “funded by” progressive philanthropist George Soros. He stated: “They've held themselves up as somehow above the fray, only looking for fair-mindedness in the media. It turns out that they are, in fact, funded by one of the most vile anti-American creatures in the world, George Soros.” Savage went on to call Soros “a totally dangerous individual” who “doesn't miss an opportunity to attack this country” and “should be stripped of his citizenship.” Similarly, Internet gossip Matt Drudge and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh both recently claimed that Media Matters is a “Soros operation” and “Soros-funded.” In fact, Media Matters has not received funding from Soros.
Earlier in the broadcast, in reference to the firing of syndicated radio host Don Imus, Savage said: “I'll tell you who's behind this: it was [Sen.] Hillary Clinton [D-NY].” Savage continued: “I believe [Rev. Al] Sharpton was told by Hillary to go after him, and to go after him with tooth and claw. We understand that Imus made a comment that was racist and idiotic. But I believe he was terminated because of Hillary Clinton.” As Media Matters noted, on the April 16 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh similarly asserted that Imus was fired because he was “critical of Hillary.”
Additionally, Savage claimed that Imus is “a liberal Democrat.” However, as Media Matters noted, Imus has expressed his support for two 2008 Republican presidential candidates, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The Savage Nation reaches more than 8 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it the third-most-listened-to talk radio show in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.
From the April 13 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:
SAVAGE: But you see, if you look at this very carefully, there's a much bigger picture here. Al Sharpton is not the issue. I will tell you who's behind this: it's Hillary Clinton. It was Hillary Clinton who hated Imus. Imus is a liberal Democrat, but he has been bashing Hillary Clinton every day as Satan. I believe Sharpton was told by Hillary to go after him, and to go after him with tooth and claw. We understand that Imus made a comment that was racist and idiotic. But I believe he was terminated because of Hillary Clinton.
[...]
SAVAGE: Seattle, Washington, [caller], you're up on The Savage Nation. Topic, please.
CALLER: Hello, sir, how are you doing? Yes, I was looking on NewsMax.com today, and there was a story about George Soros' group taking responsibility for the Imus hit, and that they assigned monitors to his show, and --
SAVAGE: Right. They're people who attack me. It's run by a homosexual activist who hates anybody in the media who does not kowtow to homosexual -- the homosexual agenda. It's called Media Matters. The man who runs it is, in my opinion, a straight-out maniac. He would belong much more happily in the ex-Soviet Union.
But we found out today on NewsMax that Media Matters is not an independent watchdog agency. In fact, it's funded by George Soros. I thought that something that did come out in the laundry in this whole affair that's very interesting. They've held themselves up as somehow above the fray, only looking for fair-mindedness in the media. It turns out that they are, in fact, funded by one of the most vile anti-American creatures in the world, George Soros. I saw that as well, [caller].
CALLER: Yeah, it just disturbed me because, you know, only -- how can in America -- can these people be allowed to operate like that, you know?
SAVAGE: Well, George Soros should be stripped of his citizenship. George Soros is a totally dangerous individual. He tried to buy the last election. Remember he spent $30 million of his own money to defeat George Bush? I mean, this is crazy. This guy doesn't miss an opportunity to attack this country. And here he was, a Hungarian Jewish refugee to this country.