A liberal activist group funded by philanthropist George Soros has reached out to some advertisers of Donald Trump's hit television show, "The Apprentice," claiming Trump is engaged in "malicious attacks on our president."
On its Twitter feed yesterday, the Think Progress blog sent public messages to two companies that advertise on "The Apprentice" – Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Groupon.com. The blog asked each company, "Are you going to continue to sponsor The Apprentice and support Donald Trump + his malicious attacks on our president?"
Think Progress is a project of the Soros-funded American Progress Action Fund, which was founded by and is regarded as a "sister advocacy organization" of the Center for American Progress.
The Center for American Progress established the Fund to transform "progressive ideas into policy through rapid response communications, legislative action, grassroots organizing and advocacy."
The Center is run by John Podesta, a former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton who was co-chairman of President Obama's 2008 White House transition team.
Podesta and the Center have had heavy influence on the crafting of White House policy.
A Time magazine article profiles the influence of Podesta's Center for American Progress in the formation of the Obama administration, stating that "not since the Heritage Foundation helped guide Ronald Reagan's transition in 1981 has a single outside group held so much sway."
A Twitter group calling itself "DumpDTrump" also said yesterday Groupon told them it will stop advertising on "The Apprentice."
If confirmed, it would mark the first advertiser to leave Trump's show in response to the bilionaire's news media comments about Obama.
The Twitter group posts this description about itself: "Donald Trump's racism and conspiracy theories should not be tolerated. This is the campaign to get advertisers and NBC to Dump Trump!"
The group reposts Think Progress articles and is likely tied to Think Progress.
Julie Mossler, a spokesperson for Groupon, told WND her company never advertised on "The Apprentice" television show.
She said the company has placed ads on a rolling basis on the websites of television networks, including NBC. She said Groupon specifically requested this week that no ad be placed on "The Apprentice" homepage.
"Enough consumers contacted us to warrant ensuring that we don't place ads on the Apprentice homepage in the future," she said.
"As a rule, we avoid polarizing political issues – it's the same reason we don't run deals on guns or abortion. This isn't a political statement, it's avoiding intentionally upsetting a segment of our customers."
The Center for American Progress reportedly was founded in 2003 with seed money from Soros, who also donated $3 million to the group's sister, the Project Action Fund.
In a section on its website titled "What We're Fighting For," Think Progress listed its action items as "Social and Economic Justice," "Healthy Communities," "Global Leadership" and "A Secure America."
The group said it is fighting against: "Corrupt Establishment," "Incompetent Establishment," "Braindead Media" and "Radical Right-Wing Agenda."
Think Progress routinely reprints pieces by the Soros-funded Media Matters for America.
Trump, meanwhile, has been a constant presence in the news media the past few weeks, calling for Obama to release records the president has largely kept private. Trump is widely credited with creating a media firestorm centered around Obama's long-form birth certificate that finally resulted in the president releasing the document on Wednesday.
Far-left organizations, including Soros-funded groups, have had some success in leading advertiser boycotts against figures who investigate Obama, including Fox News host Glenn Beck.
For example, after Beck's program focuses on the reported radicalism of Obama's "green jobs" czar, Van Jones, a group founded by Jones led a major and somewhat successful campaign against the television and radio personality’s sponsors.
Jones resigned in September 2009 after it was exposed, including by WND, that he founded a communist revolutionary organization and called for resistance against the U.S.
"Green For All," a radical environmental activist group founded by Jones, subsequently led a major campaign against Beck’s advertisers.
Also, after Beck did a series specifically targeted Soros, calling the businessman the "puppet master,” a Soros-funded organization called for the Fox News personality to be fired.
Jewish Funds for Justice, or JFSJ, a group that campaigns for social change, delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures to Fox News claiming Beck's program on Soros was anti-Semitic.
WND previously reported, Soros is a major JFSJ donor while the group is tied to many of the liberal activists that Beck routinely excoriates on his program.
Fox News announced earlier this month that Beck will "transition off" his television show.
With research by Brenda J. Elliott