William Randolph Hearst and the "Soak the Rich" Tensions Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal One of the most formidable figures Roosevelt had to manage was media tycoon Will

William Randolph Hearst and the "Soak the Rich" Tensions Guest: David Pietrusza Book Title: Roosevelt Sweeps Nation: FDR's 1936 Landslide and the Triumph of the Liberal Ideal One of the most formidable figures Roosevelt had to manage was media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, who controlled a vast empire of 28 newspapers and eight radio stations. Hearst's political allegiances were notoriously fickle; he had supported Roosevelt in 1932 only after caving to pressure to avoid a candidate he liked even less. However, as the New Deal moved leftward, Hearst became increasingly hostile. His power was so great that in 1934 he visited Adolf Hitler in Berlin. While Hearst claimed the meeting was brief, other accounts suggest a longer discussion where Hearst attempted to raise the issue of the persecution of Jews, though the visual of the meeting severely damaged his reputation. The final break between Hearst and Roosevelt came over the President's "Soak the Rich" tax program. Hearst, who earned over $100 million a year, was outraged by the proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy. In response, Roosevelt privately noted that it might be necessary to "throw 46 men who make a million dollars a year to the wolves," including Hearst. Hearst subsequently ordered his editors to promote Republican candidate Alf Landon, using his "column inches" to saturate the public with pro-Landon content. Despite this media onslaught, Hearst's popularity was in decline, and Roosevelt's willingness to confront the nation's wealthiest interests resonated with a public still struggling through the Great Depression. (5)