Connect with us

Politics

Trump blasts Spanberger ahead of Virginia meetings, says state faces tax base exodus like New York, California

Published

on

Trump blasts Spanberger ahead of Virginia meetings, says state faces tax base exodus like New York, California

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

President Donald Trump slammed Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ahead of meetings in the state Saturday, warning her policies are triggering a tax base exodus similar to New York and California.

Trump, in an early morning Truth Social post, said the Democratic governor had imposed a wave of taxes he argued were draining the state’s economic strength.

“She is adding so many Taxes, a Food and Beverage Tax, Digital Services Tax, Utilities Tax, and more,” Trump wrote. “It has lost its Energy, Vitality, and Strength. People are leaving that would never have even thought of doing so!”

Trump’s comments come as Republicans have criticized Democrats in the state legislature over a slate of tax and revenue proposals, warning the measures could hurt Virginia’s business climate, though the governor has not publicly supported or signed the measures referenced by Trump.

Advertisement

GLENN YOUNGKIN ACCUSES GOV SPANBERGER OF ‘ILLEGAL AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ GERRYMANDERING IN VIRGINIA MAP FIGHT

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and President Donald Trump  (Marvin Joseph/Getty Images; Brendan Smilowski/AFP)

“New companies that signed to come into the Commonwealth under Governor Youngkin are now looking for ways to get out — Break their Deal,” he said.

The president, who said he was heading to Virginia for meetings at Trump National Golf Club, drew comparisons to high-tax states like New York and California, which he has frequently criticized.

“We have a similar situation in New York and, most of all, in California, where Rich, Job Producing people and companies are being forced to FLEE at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote.

Advertisement

He added that California’s tax base was “literally disappearing” as wealthy individuals and corporations relocate, warning Virginia could face a similar trajectory.

VA DEM REJECTS ‘POWER GRAB’ CLAIMS ON SPANBERGER REDISTRICTING AS GOP WARNS 10–1 MAP WOULD SPLIT RURAL VOTE

The Virginia State Capitol during the inauguration ceremony of Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger in Richmond Jan. 17, 2026. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Getty Images)

“Remember, once people and companies leave, they are never coming back!” Trump said.

Spanberger pushed back on the criticism in a post on X, arguing Trump and his allies were mischaracterizing her policies.

Advertisement

“The president and his allies are talking about taxes that our state legislature never even voted on and I certainly didn’t sign,” she wrote. “Why? Because if they don’t flood the zone with fake news about fake taxes, people might hear about the bills I am signing to lower energy costs, strengthen our schools, make housing more affordable, and bring billions of dollars of business investment to Virginia.”

Spanberger has supported a broader set of revenue measures since taking office, including proposals targeting digital services and business activity, as part of an effort to fund priorities such as education and health care.

A spokesperson for Spanberger’s office also issued a statement criticizing Trump’s claims.

“Virginians are tired of Donald Trump’s lies,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Governor Spanberger has signed dozens of bipartisan bills to contend with high housing, healthcare and energy costs for Virginians — and not any of the taxes President Trump and his allies are lying about.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

The spokesperson added that businesses have announced “more than $500 million in new investment in the commonwealth since Governor Spanberger took office in January,” while accusing Trump of focusing on politics instead of economic stability.

On Saturday, House Speaker Mike Johnson and former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin also took aim at Spanberger as a state vote on redistricting approaches during a rally in Rockingham County opposing Democrats’ proposed 10-1 gerrymander ahead of the April 21 referendum election.

“She talks like a moderate, and she governs like a Marxist,” Johnson said. “I mean, this is serious stuff.”

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers the Democratic response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24, 2026, in Williamsburg, Va. (Mike Kropf/Getty Images)

Johnson also warned that the outcome in Virginia could have national implications, citing the GOP’s narrow House majority.

Advertisement

Youngkin, meanwhile, accused Spanberger of weakening public safety policies in the state.

“She says she’s going to stand for public safety, and she makes Virginia a sanctuary state after one of the most successful federal-state collaborations in the entire country,” Youngkin said. “We arrested thousands of violent criminals who are here illegally, and she put a stop to it.”

Spanberger defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the 2025 gubernatorial race, securing a Democratic win. Youngkin was not eligible for re-election under state law.

Spanberger campaigned on issues including health care and abortion rights, while positioning herself as a more moderate alternative despite GOP criticism of her voting record.

Fox News Digital’s Preston Mizell contributed to this report.

Advertisement

Politics

Trump celebrates after UN climate committee moves away from its most extreme global warming scenario

Published

on

Trump celebrates after UN climate committee moves away from its most extreme global warming scenario

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted Democratic climate policies after scientists moved away from one of the most extreme global warming scenarios previously used in United Nations-backed climate modeling.

“GOOD RIDDANCE! After 15 years of Dumocrats promising that ‘Climate Change’ is going to destroy the Planet, the United Nations TOP Climate Committee just admitted that its own projections (RCP8.5) were WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump accused Democrats of using climate fears to justify energy policies and government spending.

“For far too long Climate Activism has been used by Dumocrats to scare Americans, push horrible Energy Polices, and fund BILLIONS into their bogus research programs,” he continued. “Unlike the Dumocrats, who use Climate Alarmism nonsense to push their GREEN NEW SCAM, my Administration will always be based on TRUTH, SCIENCE, and FACT!”

Advertisement

DAVID MARCUS: NEW YORK TIMES ANNOUNCES THE END OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX

President Donald Trump spoke to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump’s comments came after climate scientists moved away from using the most extreme emissions scenario developed under the United Nations-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The IPCC’s worst-case scenarios, which included significant global temperature increases and sea level rises, included global crop failures and even potential extinction events on the scale of the dinosaurs.

The scenario, known as RCP8.5 and later SSP5-8.5, projected severe global warming outcomes under extremely high emissions assumptions.

Advertisement

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS DECLARE 2025 A TIPPING POINT ON ‘CLIMATE HYSTERIA’ AS TRUMP UNLEASHES ENERGY AGENDA

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks alongside President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Feb. 12, 2026, announcing the rollback of the 2009 Endangerment Finding on climate-warming emissions. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

According to GB News, the scenario is being phased out after researchers concluded it no longer reflects the most plausible trajectory based on renewable energy growth, emissions trends and climate policies.

Researchers writing in the journal Geoscientific Model Development said future climate scenarios should continue to cover a wide range of outcomes, from severe warming to lower-emissions futures.

“For the 21st century, this range will be smaller than assessed before: on the high-end of the range, the high emission levels (quantified by SSP5-8.5) have become implausible, based on trends in the costs of renewables, the emergence of climate policy and recent emission trends.”

Advertisement

TRUMP OFFICIALS URGED TO BOYCOTT UN CLIMATE SUMMIT AS TRUMP SEETHES CLIMATE CHANGE IS A ‘CON JOB’

Trump’s post follows remarks he made last September at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he called climate change a “con job.”

“It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world, in my opinion,” Trump said at the time. “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong.”

“They were made by stupid people that have cost their country’s fortunes and given those same countries no chance for success,” he continued.

EPA CHIEF ZELDIN DELIVERS DAGGER TO THE HEART OF OBAMA’S CLIMATE CHANGE AGENDA ON ‘RUTHLESS’ PODCAST

Advertisement

President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23, 2025. Environmental and energy groups called on the Trump administration to boycott the U.N. Climate Conference in November, according to a letter obtained by Fox Digital. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)

Trump’s comments drew criticism from Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the remarks “total disinformation.”

“You know yesterday at the U.N., President Trump said, ‘Climate change is a hoax,’ because it’s just total disinformation,” Clinton said during the Clinton Global Initiative in New York. “It’s a statement that is just not true, and yet being propagated.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin later defended Trump’s climate remarks in an interview with Fox News.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

President Donald Trump speaks during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on Sept. 23, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“The president is absolutely right and we’ve seen it in the name of climate change, these left wing policies willing to cause extreme economic pain for people who can at least afford it,” he said.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Politics

Mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt heads to the Valley, wooing voters in his rival’s district

Published

on

Mayoral hopeful Spencer Pratt heads to the Valley, wooing voters in his rival’s district

Lake Balboa resident Jose Meraz is looking for a mayor who will turn L.A. around, cleaning up streets that he says are “filled with garbage.”

Schoolteacher Tracey Schroeder, a Republican candidate for state Assembly, is unhappy about crime, open-air drug use and the slow rebuilding effort in the wake of the Palisades fire, which destroyed thousands of homes.

Greg Whitley, a resident of Reseda, said he’s frustrated with homelessness and the influx of what he called “criminal illegal aliens.”

“I live with the Spanish community. Great people,” he said. “But these illegals that come here for criminal reasons, they’re making them look bad, and they don’t like it.”

All three showed up outside a five-bedroom home in Sherman Oaks on Saturday, looking to speak with reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, now waging an insurgent campaign for Los Angeles mayor in the June 2 election.

Advertisement

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, left, poses with a supporter during a community meet-and-greet event Saturday at a home on Longridge Avenue in a residential neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Standing in the entry to the home’s two-car garage, the onetime star of “The Hills” spent more than two hours shaking hands, giving hugs and posing for photos with his admirers, who waited in line under punishing San Fernando Valley sunshine.

Pratt used social media to invite the public to the campaign event, which took place in the district represented by one of his mayoral opponents, City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

Advertisement

He did not deliver any speeches outside the property, which is listed for rent on Zillow for $15,950 per month. He and a member of his security personnel said he was not taking interviews.

Pratt has been running in voter surveys behind Mayor Karen Bass, who is running for reelection, sometimes swapping places with Raman for second and third. He turned in a strong debate performance this month and has been outpacing his rivals in fundraising, according to the most recent disclosure reports.

While running for office, Pratt has blamed Bass for the 2025 wildfire that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades, including his home. He has railed against the city’s handling of homelessness, saying he would pursue a “treatment first” approach toward people with drug addiction who are living on the street.

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, back to the camera, speaks with supporters

Mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, back to the camera, speaks with supporters Saturday during a community meet-and-greet event.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Advertisement

Pratt said recently that he wants to increase Los Angeles Police Department staffing to 12,500 officers over the next decade, up from about 8,600. Speaking with one supporter on Saturday, he said the city needs to “make sure all the laws are being enforced.”

“Plenty of functioning cities enforce their laws,” he said.

That message resonated with many of the people in line.

“He is advocating for the safety and security of our families — specifically, for mothers to be able to walk their kids to school,” said Saba Lahar, a resident of Sherman Oaks, moments after talking to the candidate.

Pratt fans dropped off ballots, picked up lawn signs and stopped to pick up coffee drinks from the Hustle N Dough doughnut truck parked out front.

Advertisement

Some showed up even though they cannot cast ballots in L.A.

A man photographs his father holding a "Pratt for L.A. Mayor" sign in the street

Ruben Jr., no last name given takes a picture of his father during mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt’s community meet-and-greet Saturday in Sherman Oaks.

(Etienne Laurent/For The Times)

Brian Rodda, who runs a walking food tour company, described himself as “an unsatisfied Angeleno” even though he lives in West Hollywood, which is not part of the city of L.A.

“Sadly, because I do live in West Hollywood, I cannot vote for him,” he said. “But I certainly think we need a change.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

ActBlue CEO faces June 10 grilling after fundraising powerhouse allegedly misled Congress on foreign donations

Published

on

ActBlue CEO faces June 10 grilling after fundraising powerhouse allegedly misled Congress on foreign donations

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX: The embattled head of a Democratic fundraising behemoth is headed for a congressional grilling next month over allegations of fraudulent donations on its platform.

ActBlue’s CEO Regina Wallace-Jones will testify in a public hearing before the House Administration Committee on June 10, a committee spokesman told Fox News Digital. 

Wallace-Jones’ agreement to testify comes as ActBlue faces mounting scrutiny over whether it misled Congress regarding foreign donations on its payment processing platform.

“Ms. Wallace-Jones allegedly misled our committee at the outset of our investigation into ActBlue’s fraud prevention standards,” House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., said in a statement. “It’s past time we set the record straight and got answers for the American people. I look forward to hearing her testify.”

Advertisement

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., holds a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10, 2025. (Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT ACTBLUE ROCKED BY ALLEGATIONS IT MISLED CONGRESS ABOUT FOREIGN DONATIONS

The statement referenced an explosive report in The New York Times earlier this year that said ActBlue’s then-outside counsel warned Wallace-Jones in 2023 the group may have misrepresented facts to Steil’s committee about its vetting of potentially illegal foreign donations.

Under U.S. law, foreign nationals who are not lawful permanent residents are generally prohibited from donating to candidates seeking federal office or political action committees.

Steil previously requested that Wallace-Jones testify before his committee on May 19. The invitation was met with outrage from ActBlue’s lawyers, who dismissed the committee action as a “partisan attack.”

Advertisement

But Republicans have pointed to documents that ActBlue has allegedly withheld in response to subpoenas issued in 2025, which Steil has characterized as “deliberately incomplete.”

All five current or former ActBlue employees who appeared in depositions with the committee invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination a combined 146 times, according to an interim staff report released in April by House Republicans.

ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones, a delegate from California, wears a U.S.-flag themed outfit ahead of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 19, 2024.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM ACTBLUE, ALLEGING ‘FRAUDULENT AND FOREIGN DONATIONS’

The House Administration Committee has been probing ActBlue’s fraud prevention safeguards since 2023, when Steil’s panel investigated the group’s failure to require credit card verification value (CVV) when processing payments.

Advertisement

“Given ActBlue’s demonstrated history of misleading Congress, there is considerable reason to believe that ActBlue may have deliberately withheld this responsive material to impede our investigation,” Steil and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to Wallace-Jones in April.

In the letter, the senior Republicans also directed ActBlue to produce a trove of documents related to its vetting of political contributions from abroad.

Wallace-Jones has denied making false statements to Congress. The group’s lawyers have previously characterized the investigation as politically motivated and contended that ActBlue has been forthright with the committee.

Amid the GOP scrutiny, ActBlue has experienced a wave of resignations from senior legal and compliance staff.

An election countdown calendar hangs at the ActBlue fundraising office in Somerville, Mass. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The June hearing notice immediately follows the House Administration Committee advancing legislation to crack down on fraudulent political donations, including illegal contributions from foreigners. The campaign finance measure cleared Steil’s panel unanimously on Thursday. 

“It’s a positive sign that people are beginning to take this risk and this threat seriously,” the Wisconsin Republican told Spectrum News.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending