Fact Check

Did Trump Tell George Soros to 'Go to Hell' at Davos?

A well-known purveyor of fake news spread the fabricated claim that President Trump called out George Soros at the 2018 World Economic Forum.

Published Jan. 29, 2018

 (Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock.com)
Image Via Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock.com
Claim:
At the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump told billionaire George Soros to "go to hell."

President Trump and billionaire George Soros made separate appearances at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in late January 2018, supplying fodder for a fake news article holding that the two had been witnessed having a face-to-face confrontation there.

The unreliable web site YourNewsWire published a "report" on 29 January stating that Trump had told Soros, who gave a speech highly critical of the president at Davos, to "Go to hell":

A female reporter with a German accent asked President Trump, who had just taken his seat, “Why are you smiling so broadly, like the cat that got the cream?“

Before President Trump could answer, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, seated on the far left in the photo, said, “He is smiling because he just told George Soros to go to hell.”

Mainstream media from around the world reported on George Soros’ speech at Davos, which he dedicated entirely to criticizing President Trump. Attempting to convince the world that Trump’s presidency is “a danger to the world.“

Unsurprisingly, given YourNewsWire's long record of posting fabricated and politically slanted content, no such exchange between a journalist and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was reported (or even mentioned in passing) by any reputable media source on the planet.

Nor can any such exchange be seen or heard in video of the 25 January dinner meeting attended by Trump, Nielsen, and various European business leaders:


It is true that George Soros, who, in addition to being a billionaire financier and philanthropist, is a longtime supporter of progressive candidates and causes, delivered a speech at the Davos conference in which he said "I consider the Trump administration a danger to the world."

But there is no evidence that Trump responded directly to Soros's comments in public at all, much less told him in front of witnesses to "go to hell."

Sources

Lucey, Catherine.  "Trump in Davos: Threatens Palestinians, Reassures Brits."   Associated Press.  25 January 2018.

Porzecanski, Katia.  "George Soros Says Trump Administration Is 'Danger to the World.'"   Bloomberg.  25 January 2018.

David Emery is a West Coast-based writer and editor with 25 years of experience fact-checking rumors, hoaxes, and contemporary legends.