California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparked fierce outrage for soliciting donations to victims of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires via his super PAC, which pushed users to add their personal information to a Democratic fundraising site.
Newsom, 57, posted a link on X to californiafirefacts.com, a website set up by his campaign committee, in response to what he claimed was misinformation on the wildfires.
But the site urges users to give money to the California Fire Foundation and links them to a module from ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform. The ActBlue donation box says the money is being raised by Campaign for Democracy, Newsom’s super PAC.
“Your donation will go directly towards supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to impacted residents,” the site says.
The California Fire Foundation, which helps firefighters, their families and victims, allows users to donate directly without relying on a service like ActBlue to make those transactions.
Users who donate via Newsom’s fundraising appeal are also automatically signing up for text messages from his super PAC, if they provide their phone numbers.
“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,” a spokesperson for Newsom told The Post.
Observers online also quickly pointed out that ActBlue takes a portion of all donations as a processing fee. ActBlue claims to “charge a flat rate of 3.95% on each donation” to “cover the processing cost.” The Post has contacted ActBlue for comment.
ActBlue is a controversial platform. Last year, congressional Republicans flagged that scores of transactions on ActBlue had been flagged as potentially suspicious or fraudulent.
Other Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have similarly shared ActBlue fundraisers as they solicit money for wildfire victims.
Newsom himself has refrained from linking to the ActBlue fundraiser directly. However, he went on the liberal “Pod Save America” podcast, last week, which encouraged users to use the Dem fundraiser, as well.
Additionally, through X posts and reposts, he repeatedly nudged users to check out californiafirefacts.com, where the link to his super PAC’s ActBlue fundraiser was fixated at the bottom.
Newsom’s original post inspired Community Notes suggestions as some users mused about flagging the ActBlue fundraiser in the link. As of noon time Sunday, there was no Community Note on the post.
Critics quickly put Newsom on blast for promoting his super PAC while raising money for the wildfire victims and first responders.
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
“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,” X user Jack wrote.
“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,” user Vanessa wrote on X, referencing Newsom’s appearance on the liberal “Pod Save America” podcast.
“Newsom….never let a fundraising opportunity go to waste,” user Andrew Laing wrote on X.
Tech baron Elon Musk reacted to the revelation with a clown emoji.
Newsom and California officials have taken heat over their response to the wildfires that have ravaged the state, burned over 12,300 homes to the ground and killed at least 16.
The California governor is term-limited and therefore will not compete in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial contest. He is speculated to have presidential aspirations.
Newsom has used his Campaign for Democracy to amplify Democrats in traditionally red states via ads and other methods.
