Newsom’s political career is quickly going down the drain. He’s proving to everyone why he’s not fit to be governor.
And Gavin Newsom is drowning in scandal for the horrific way he handled this tragedy.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has come under fire for using his super PAC to solicit donations for victims of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires. The fundraising effort, which directs users to a Democratic platform, has sparked outrage online and raised questions about the governor’s motives.
Newsom shared a link to californiafirefacts.com on X (formerly Twitter) in response to what he described as wildfire-related misinformation. The website, created by his campaign committee, encourages donations to the California Fire Foundation, an organization supporting firefighters, their families, and wildfire victims.
However, the donation link leads to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform, under a module labeled “Campaign for Democracy,” which is Newsom’s super PAC.
The website promises, “Your donation will go directly towards supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to impacted residents.”
Critics, however, noted that donors are required to provide personal information, including phone numbers, which automatically signs them up for texts from Newsom’s super PAC.
Although the California Fire Foundation allows direct donations without a middleman, ActBlue charges a flat 3.95% processing fee for transactions. The platform itself has faced scrutiny in recent years, with congressional Republicans raising concerns about potentially suspicious or fraudulent transactions.
A spokesperson for Newsom defended the initiative, telling the New York Post, “Not a cent of these donations go to Gavin Newsom or his PAC. Gov. Newsom is proud to have raised $450,000 for the Fire Foundation in small-dollar contributions during these fires and is grateful for the people across the nation who have come together to help Californians in their time of need.”
Despite this defense, critics on X quickly condemned the fundraising effort. Many accused Newsom of exploiting a crisis to bolster Democratic causes and build donor lists for future political campaigns.
“Both Gavin Newsom and Elizabeth Warren were exposed for using the California fires to push Democrat fundraising efforts. It doesn’t get much worse than this. Americans, remember these receipts when you head to the polls,” wrote one user, Jack.
Others echoed this sentiment, with Vanessa posting, “Getting a great preview of how a President Newsom would handle a national emergency—hop on a left-wing podcast, have the hosts use Act Blue for relief donations (where $ will ultimately get funneled to Dem causes), and then retain the donor lists for future Dem fundraising.”
The backlash intensified when it was revealed that Newsom had appeared on the liberal Pod Save America podcast, where hosts promoted ActBlue for wildfire relief donations.
Additionally, Newsom repeatedly directed followers on X to his website, which included the ActBlue link at the bottom.
Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, joined the chorus of criticism by reacting to the story with a clown emoji.
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1878276650330177721
Newsom’s handling of the wildfires has faced broader criticism, with the blazes devastating over 12,300 homes and claiming at least 24 lives at the time of writing.
The governor, term-limited in California, is widely speculated to have presidential aspirations and has used his Campaign for Democracy to support Democrats in traditionally Republican states through advertisements and other methods.
As frustration mounts over the wildfire crisis and the associated fundraising efforts, Newsom faces mounting scrutiny about his political strategies during emergencies.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
