Since the fires hit California this month, and even before with his petty dismissal of Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has been particularly terrible when it comes to handling the situation. Not only has he been ranting about Trump and supposed "disinformation" and "misinformation," he thought it would be fitting to prioritize appearing on "Pod Save America," co-hosted by former aides of former President Barack Obama. As if the move to go on such a far-left podcast wasn't bad enough, the episode was used as a way to solicit donations for ActBlue, a Democratic platform.
The link in question, directing to an ActBlue website, mentions the charities of Latino Community Foundation, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, and California Community Foundation Wildfire Relief Fund, which are supposedly vetted.
If you want to help those impacted by the California wildfires, please donate at https://t.co/QrPa8M4aRi https://t.co/fegP5tndlk
— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) January 11, 2025
Gavin Newsom is directing people to donate to fire victims then links to ActBlue. He’s using the devastating fires to raise money for Democrats.
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 12, 2025
This is straight up evil. He’s scum. pic.twitter.com/IqxABmWk8y
That partisans like former Obama aides are the ones supposedly doing the vetting doesn't offer much comfort. At least one such group, the Latino Community Foundation, is also problematic with its claim from last month about how "immigrant families face unprecedented threats."
California is particularly tolerable of illegal immigration, and is even a sanctuary state.
Who are you to be “vetting” organizations for relief funds? Is that a skill of yours?
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) January 11, 2025
Why do you need to use ActBlue to collect donations? What’s the processing fee? What proof are you giving for where the money went?
You getting defensive isn’t changing how sketchy this is. https://t.co/VfuaogtYkn
This is the group @jonfavs is bragging about routing money to through ActBlue.
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) January 11, 2025
The relief fund is a front for an open borders communist organization. https://t.co/WBHagNwbL6
Beyond how Newsom's appearance on the program and his overall response to the disaster have not been a good look, there are further problems with the governor and "Pod Save America" soliciting donations through such a platform. ActBlue has been wracked with some serious fraud allegations.
Last October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton raised concerns about "suspicious donations" made through ActBlue, specifically when it comes to "suspicious actors" using the platform to make "straw political donations." As his office pointed out, "it appears that straw donations are systematically being made using false identities, through untraceable payment methods."
The situation gets particularly shady when it comes to how ActBlue admitted to Congress last month that as recently as September, they were still accepting foreign gift card donations.
Also last month, The Daily Signal's Tony Kinnett covered concerns with such donations in an episode of "The Tony Kinnett Cast," with that episode from December 13 dedicated to discussing "Democrat Donor Network CAUGHT Using Foreign Money."
Just as Newsom hasn't taken too kindly to people daring to question his poor response to the fires and other related decisions, neither have the Democratic co-hosts of the podcast.
Bonchie, from our sister site of RedState, who also wrote about ActBlue donations on Sunday, was responding to a post from co-host Jon Favreau saying "f**k you" to Jeff Blehar for daring to take notice of how those who wish to donate have to give their emails.
Still, another co-host, Jon Lovett, whined about "lies by rightwing a**holes" and shared that very same link as one shared by the Pod Save America account above, urging people to "see for yourself and donate now..."
Getting so touchy and cursing at people when soliciting donations tend to not resonate well.
Fuck you.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) January 11, 2025
1. We don't bother people who donate through our relief funds
2. People on VSA email lists are there because they opt in or sign up
3. The only reason we organize relief funds this way is so people don't have to go to multiple sites to give, and we can vet all the… https://t.co/OvD9KQeDGX
These lies by rightwing assholes are drawing much needed attention to our relief fund which directs ALL THE MONEY DIRECTLY TO RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) January 11, 2025
Please see for yourself and donate now at https://t.co/Y3dv8JrNR2 https://t.co/Xi9KG85zyJ
Newsom isn't the only Democratic politician to solicit donations for the platform Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) begged for donations through ActBlue, claiming "100% of your donation will go directly to these organizations."
At least in Warren's case, there's added context from Community Notes about ActBlue, which may soon find its way to posts from others, including Newsom, the Pod Save America account, and co-hosts.
Tellingly, the context points out that ActBlue takes out "3.95% of all transactions," linking to ActBlue's own website on pricing as a source. One can also donate to those organizations directly, rendering ActBlue's role moot.
To help support the communities around L.A. being devastated by wildfires, can you split a donation between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles? 100% of your donation will go directly to these organizations: https://t.co/EtgMfHrEtq
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 11, 2025
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