Newsom defends response to fire with fact-checking website linking to Dem Party fundraising platform

Governor Gavin Newsom defended his handling of the raging fires in the Los Angeles area with a new website designed to fight “misinformation” that also links to Democratic fundraising giant ActBlue, Fox News Digital has revealed.

Fires raged in Los Angeles area as of Tuesdaydestroying thousands of acres and homes and leaving more than a dozen dead in their wake. Newsom, amid criticism of his handling of the fires, unveiled a new website this weekend to combat “misinformation” about California’s wildfire prevention and emergency efforts, linking to a website that collects donations through ActBlue.

“There is a lot of misinformation. We just launched a new site to ensure the public has access to fact-based information about the Southern California wildfires,” Newsom told X on Saturday.

“TRUTH: CA has NOT cut our firefighting budget. We have 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 took office.

“- California will NOT allow robbery. Get the facts: http://californiafirefacts.com“, the announcement concludes.

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Californiafirefacts.com lists a handful of “lies” promoted on social media, with the media and Newsom’s “facts” responding to those claims, before boasting a donation button at the bottom of the website, Fox News Digital revealed early Sunday morning.

“Contribute to the California Firefighters Foundation,” the website reads, identifying the fundraiser as part of ActBlue, which will deliver donations to firefighters and devastated communities.

“Please make a contribution to the California Firefighters Foundation. It’s a tax-deductible donation, and the money will go directly to support firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to affected residents,” the website’s fundraising section adds.

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When the donate button is clicked, the user is taken to the ActBlue URL where people can donate from $25 to $1,000 – or a number they choose. The donation page also boasts Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy political action committee, which says it will sign donors up for text notifications from the PAC.

Newsom’s PAC was launched in 2023 and promoted as an effort to strengthen Democrats in “extremist” GOP-led states. ActBlue is a massive Democratic PAC focused on small dollar donations that have fueled Democratic elections and efforts totaling more than $16 billion since its founding in 2004, according to its website.

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The ActBlue URL promoting wildfire donations reiterates that all donations will be delivered “directly” to “supporting firefighters and the communities they serve, including direct financial support to affected residents.”

Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that none of the donations will go to the Democratic governor or his PAC.

“Not one cent of these donations goes to Gavin Newsom or his PAC. Governor Newsom is proud to have raised $450,000 for the Fire Foundation in small dollar contributions during these wildfires and is grateful to people across the country who have come together to help Californians in their time of need,” Newsom spokesman Nathan Click Fox News Digital said on Sunday.

The The ActBlue website states that the donations via the platform includes a 3.95% processing fee, which is passed on to “groups using our platform”. The New York Post reported that ActBlue waived fees for wildfire donations, though the fundraising giant did not immediately respond to Fox Digital’s request for comment on the reported waived fees.

Contributions made through ActBlue to charities are processed by AB Charities and include a 3.95% fee that goes towards the cost of processing the contribution, according to ActBlue. Processing fees from AB Charities do not go to political candidates, according to the group.

Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren he also urged the public to donate to those affected by the fires through the ActBlue link.

“To help the communities around LA that are being devastated by the wildfires, can you split the donation between Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles? 100% of your donation will go directly to these organizations,” Warren posted to X on Saturday.

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X community notes tore into the senator, saying, “This is not a link to a charity. It’s a link to a Democrat fundraising platform. They take 3.95% of all transactions. secure.actblue.com/pricing.”

Fox Digital reached out to Warren’s office Sunday morning for comment, but did not hear back.

Conservatives and critics of the governor took to social media about the ActBlue donation link, calling the move “disgraceful.”

The forest fires destroyed at least 12,300 homes around the Los Angeles area for five days, and left at least 16 people dead, while thousands more were forced to evacuate. Residents, including Hollywood stars, condemned Newsom for his handling of the devastation, including hydrants that ran out of water amid the fire.

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“Why was there no water in the hydrants?” one resident who confronted Newsom last week asked, according to Fox 11. “What are you going to do and is it going to be different next time and I’m going to fill the hydrants myself.”

President-elect Trump, who has a long history of criticizing Newsom over repeated devastating wildfires in the state, called on the governor to step down over the fires.

“One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning to the ground. It’s ashes and Gavin Newscum should resign. It’s all his fault!!!” the president-elect said in a Truth Social post this week.

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Earlier this week, Trump blamed the LA County wildfires on Newsom and his environmental policies.

“Governor Gavin Newscum has refused to sign a water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excessive rain and snowmelt from the north, to flow daily to many parts of California, including areas currently burning nearly apocalyptic way,” Trump announced on Truth Social on Wednesday.

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“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a snot by giving it less water (it didn’t work!) but he failed concern for the people of California. Now the highest price is paid. I will demand that this incompetent governor allows nice, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA! He is to blame for this. On top of all that, there is no water for fire hydrants or fire planes. A real disaster!”

Newsom sent a letter to Trump, who will be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president on Jan. 20, over the weekend inviting him to the scene of the fire.

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“In the spirit of this great country, we must not politicize a human tragedy or spread misinformation from the sidelines. Hundreds of thousands of Americans – displaced from their homes and in fear for the future – deserve to see all of us working in their best interests to ensure a speedy recovery and rebuilding,” he wrote. is Newsom.

“With respect and an open hand,” he wrote.