Gavin Newsom is slammed for asking well-wishers to send LA fire victims donations via his super PAC
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been criticized for directing benefactors to make wildfire donations through a Democratic fundraising site.
Newsom, 57, shared a link to californiafirefacts.com – a website created by his campaign committee – claiming it would combat misinformation about the devastating fires in Los Angeles.
He manages donations intended for California wildfire victims through his super PAC’s fundraising page, which collects donors’ personal information for Democratic databases.
But critics quickly noticed that while the site encourages donations to the California Fire Foundation, all contributions are funneled through ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform, through Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy super PAC.
Donors who provide phone numbers will also be automatically opted in to receive text messages from Newsom’s political organization.
Three fires are still burning Los Angeles: Palisades, Eaton and Hurst. At least 16 people have been killed, tens of thousands of people have been displaced and 12,300 buildings have been burned down.
‘There is a lot of misinformation. “I just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based data on Southern California’s wildfires,” Newsom wrote to X on Saturday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has been criticized for directing wildfire donations through a Democratic fundraising site
Newsom, 57, shared a link to californiafirefacts.com – a website created by his campaign committee – claiming it would combat misinformation about the devastating fires in Los Angeles
“The TRUTH: CA has NOT cut our firefighting budget. We’ve nearly doubled the size of our firefighting force and built the world’s largest aerial firefighting fleet.
“CA has increased forest management tenfold since we came to power.
“California does NOT allow looting. Get the facts: http://californiafirefacts.com,” the post continued.
Newsom has been criticized for his attempt to collect donor data while victims are losing homes.
It sparked an immediate backlash with critics pointing out that the California Fire Foundation already accepts direct donations without Democratic Party intermediaries.
ActBlue, which processes the donations, receives a 3.95 percent discount on each contribution New York Post reported.
This means that thousands of dollars intended for fire victims could instead go to payment processing.
“So at the bottom of your ‘facts’ site you want people to donate to a fund run by ACTBLUE!” one critic noted. “So not only have you been completely incompetent and a failure, you have lied continuously and now you want people to donate to a site with a portion of it going to DEMOCRAT FUNDRAISING!”
“Democratic policies are the reason why SoCal is literally burning to the ground with no end in sight! What a piece of work you are! You need to resign and own your failure! The fact that you lie again and again is astonishing! What a disgusting person you are!’
Another user chimed in, commenting, “Why is this a priority now? After the current crisis is over, you still have plenty of time to try to respond to and deflect the criticism. Launching this PR website makes it clear that your focus is too much on your political future and not on the issues ahead.”
The controversy comes as Los Angeles residents continue to grapple with devastating wildfires that have destroyed homes and forced widespread evacuations across the region.
He directs donations intended for California wildfire victims through his super PAC’s fundraising page, which collects donors’ personal information for Democratic databases.
It sparked an immediate backlash with critics pointing out that the California Fire Foundation already accepts direct donations without Democratic Party intermediaries.
Donors who provide phone numbers will also be automatically opted in to receive text messages from Newsom’s political organization
ActBlue, which processes the donations, receives a 3.95 percent discount on each contribution
This comes as Newsom flies into a rage after claiming he doesn’t know how the Los Angeles wildfires happened — while appearing to blame other officials, including LA Mayor Karen Bass.
This comes as Newsom flies into a rage after claiming he doesn’t know how the Los Angeles wildfires happened — while appearing to blame other officials, including LA Mayor Karen Bass.
Newsom has been accused of ‘passing the buck’ in his latest efforts to defend his response to the state’s devastating ‘Palisade Fire’ inferno, as the official death toll rose to 16 today.
The man previously touted as a potential Democratic presidential candidate has also faced criticism for cutting $100 million in funding intended to tackle wildfires.