In a recent interview, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pushed back against claims that taxing billionaires more would meaningfully improve life for working Americans, arguing that even dramatically increasing his tax burden would do little to solve inflation or lower costs for families.

“People sometimes say that, you know, I don’t pay taxes. That’s not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes ... if people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate, but don’t pretend that that’s going to solve the problem,” Bezos said.

“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens. I promise you. You can’t connect those two things. Not logically,” he added.

BlazeTV host Pat Gray couldn’t agree with Bezos more, pointing out that he also “bleeds terribly” during tax season — but the government largely just wastes his money.

“And so, what happens is you could double that, or you could triple it, or you could quadruple it. It’s still going to the government, and they’re still wasting it on crap,” he adds.

But Bezos wasn’t done, taking on high rent costs as well.

“I recently saw somebody blame it on Airbnb. OK, Airbnb is not the cause of expensive rent ... it’s already been outlawed in New York City and rents are still very high. So we know Airbnb isn’t causing high rents,” he said.

“What’s really causing high rent is government intervention. We subsidize demand with things like tax policy, which is fine, but at the same time, we constrain supply. We constrain supply with things like zoning and permitting. Why does it take so long to get something permitted to build?” he continued.

“If you want rents to come down, econ 101, really simple,” he said, explaining that you can’t subsidize demand and constrain supply.

“If you do, prices are going to skyrocket. But this is not anybody’s fault other than government policy. And this is fixable. Again, this is a skills issue,” he added.

“We should put together an economic commission. Featuring Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, you probably want to avoid Bill Gates,” Gray comments.

“But you know, get these guys together who know how to be successful and understand economics and help us craft a makes-sense tax policy in this country where you’re not just pounding people who are successful,” he adds.

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AOC Accidentally Reveals How Dumb She Is - Dr. Drew & Dave Rubin’s Reaction Is Perfect

Bill Gates' world continues to unravel with Epstein probe, foundation layoffs

The Epstein files may have largely disappeared from the 24-hour news cycle on this side of the Atlantic, but the damning revelations they contain nevertheless continue to haunt former associates of the dead pedophile, especially Microsoft co-founder and vaccine champion Bill Gates.

While maintaining that he "did nothing illicit," Gates reportedly apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation at a town hall in February, acknowledging the negative impact that his ties — developed after Epstein's conviction in 2008 for soliciting sex from minor girls — have had on the organization and stressing that it was a "huge mistake to spend time with Epstein."

"Our work is very reputational sensitive," said the billionaire. "I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us."

'He is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions.'

It appears the scandal-stunted organization has itself chosen to work with fewer people.

According to an internal email reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, the Gates Foundation is poised to cut about 500 jobs, or about 20% of its staff, by 2030. The foundation reportedly plans to reduce its current headcount of 2,375 by 200 by the end of next year.

"This is a challenging time for our organization in many ways, but it also highlights the critical importance of taking the tough actions now," Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman reportedly said in the letter.

Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

The foundation teased these layoffs earlier this year in a release detailing how the organization was planning to cap annual operating expenditures at $1.25 billion, roughly 14% of the foundation's total budget.

In addition to slimming down, the Gates Foundation — which is set to shutter in December 2045 — is presently undergoing a desperate PR rehab.

The organization announced on Tuesday that it has "commissioned an external review to assess past foundation engagement with Epstein, and our current policies for vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships."

The foundation noted further that this review is underway and an update is expected this summer.

In addition to facing scrutiny from investigators tasked by his own organization, Gates is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview on June 10.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) noted in a March 3 letter to Gates that the committee is reviewing:

the alleged mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation into Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, (ii) the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein's death, (iii) the operation of sex-trafficking rings and ways for the federal government to effectively combat them, (iv) ways in which Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell sought to curry favor and exercise influence to protect their illegal activities, and (v) potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials.

Comer said that the committee suspects Gates has information that will help with this investigation.

A spokesman for Gates told Politico, "While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work."

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Ex-Victoria's Secret owner now claiming Epstein 'conned' him once suggested he was demonically possessed

Former Victoria's Secret CEO and Bath & Body Works co-founder Leslie Wexner was questioned at his Ohio home on Wednesday by Democrat members of the House Oversight Committee over his relationship to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The 88-year-old billionaire said in a prepared statement that he has "been the subject of outrageous untrue statements and hurtful rumor, innuendo, and speculation," adding that he was "naive, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein."

Although he has not been charged with any crime, Wexner was identified in the newly released Epstein files — both in a 2019 FBI document and an FBI email — as a possible co-conspirator in Epstein's sex-trafficking case.

Denial

Wexner, whose net worth is presently estimated to be $10.8 billion, told lawmakers that he was introduced to Epstein in the 1980s by Bob Meister, the former vice chairman of the insurance giant Aon.

'Taunting and poking him with impatience, that little demon he really loves.'

After allegedly receiving references for Epstein from two of the pedophile's former superiors at Bear Stearns and Élie de Rothschild of the Rothschild family banking dynasty, Wexner developed a relationship with Epstein, then ultimately hired him to manage his personal finances.

The New York Times reported that during the time he managed Wexner's personal finances, Epstein not only became extraordinarily rich but came into the possession of a New York mansion, a private plane, and a luxury estate in Ohio, altogether valued at roughly $100 million and all previously owned by Wexner or one of his companies. Wexner told lawmakers on Wednesday that Epstein purchased the New York property from him for what he "was told was the appraised value."

Wexner noted in his prepared statement that Epstein "was clever, diabolical, and a master manipulator" — a deceiver living a "double life" who "carefully used his acquaintance with important individuals to curate an aura of legitimacy that he then used to expand his network of acquaintances, and apparent credibility, even farther."

The billionaire claims that he was only personally acquainted with the one side of Epstein — the "sophisticated financial guru," not the "side of Epstein's life for which he is now infamous."

Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre alleged in court documents that she had been trafficked to Wexner, according to multiple outlets. Wexner, however, claimed both that he has never been unfaithful to Abigail, his wife of 33 years, and that he completely severed ties with Epstein around the time of the pedophile's guilty plea in 2008 for solicitation of a minor for prostitution.

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Wexner claimed in 2019 that he had severed ties with the sex offender a year earlier, in 2007.

Wexner stressed in his statement to lawmakers that while he was "conned," he has "done nothing wrong."

Following the deposition, Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, stated, "There was no one more involved in providing Jeffrey Epstein with the wealth and financial support he needed to commit his crimes than Les Wexner. There would be no Epstein Island, no Epstein plane, and no money to traffic women and girls without the wealth of Les Wexner."

"And yet, with all this evidence, Mr. Wexner admitted that the FBI and DOJ never questioned him," continued Garcia. "That’s outrageous and unforgivable."

A Wexner spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Politico that the billionaire "honestly answered every question put to him today by the Committee" and that "Wexner reiterated that he has no knowledge of, and did not participate in, Epstein’s illegal conduct."

Another malicious spirit

Epstein may not have been the first "master manipulator" to exert influence on Wexner.

In an interview that served as the basis for Julie Baumgold's August 1985 profile in New York Magazine, Wexner discussed "his dybbuk, which pokes and prods and gives him the itchiness of soul that he calls shpilkes."

According to Jewish folklore, a dybbuk is an evil human spirit whose past sins preclude it from finding peace. These spirits are believed to seek refuge in the bodies of living human beings whom they cling to and/or possess.

Rabbi Julian Sinclair, writing for the Jewish Chronicle, noted that "Kabbalistic works, at least from the 16th century onwards, sometimes contain instructions and protocols for the exorcism of dybbuks, ceremonies to drive them out of the bodies they have colonised."

Baumgold wrote that when Wexner was a boy, his father called the dybbuk "tummel, a churning, so he feels 'molten' and unformed, pricked by these spiritual pins and needles."

"[Wexner] met this demon again when he was 40 and already worth half a billion," continued Baumgold, "when he climbed the mountain in front of his house in Vail and almost froze to death and decided to change his life. This demon he calls 'terminal shpilkes,' which makes him wander from house to house, repeating the pattern of his childhood on a luxurious scale, wanting more, swallowing companies larger than his own. It is precisely the reason that Wexner has a billion and didn't stop at, say, 5 million and a new Mercedes every other year and what he calls 'normal life.'"

The profile concludes with:

Lex Wexner picks up his heavy black case and flies off in his Challenger, with his dybbuk sitting next to him, taunting and poking him with impatience, that little demon he really loves. The dybbuk turns his face. What does he look like? "Me," says Les Wexner.

Journalist Whitney Webb suggested that while "one may interpret this use of shpilkes, literally 'pins' or 'spikes' in Yiddish and often used to describe nervous energy, impatience, or anxiety, as Wexner merely personifying his anxiety," his decision to use the word "dybbuk" was "significant."

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Do the Epstein files confirm this Pizzagate theory? NY Mag contributor makes stunning admission.

WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of leaked emails from the personal account of John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, in late 2016.

The decentralized army of sleuths that subsequently combed over the leaked emails found not only damning insights into Hillary Clinton and her doomed presidential campaign but odd messages about pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, and other foods.

'842 occurrences of the word pizza, which seems like a lot.'

The recurring references to food in non-culinary contexts prompted some to theorize that they were code words related to pedophilia and human trafficking — a theory that the mainstream media and so-called fact-checkers emphasized was "dangerous," "fake news," and, in essence, a "moral panic."

New York Magazine, one of the publications that strenuously criticized the so-called Pizzagate theory nine years ago, suggested in the wake of the new Jeffrey Epstein documents' release that "pizza" might be a code word, after all.

Dan Brooks, writing for New York Magazine, noted that the latest trove of Epstein files published by the Department of Justice "contains 842 occurrences of the word pizza, which seems like a lot. By comparison, the word hamburger appears only 190 times, while the phrase 'sex with children' appears 20 times."

Brooks admitted that "some of the pizza-related material seems pretty weird."

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Not only did Epstein appear to have automated alerts reminding him to deliver a certain individual pizza, but he was asked on more than one occasion if individuals could have a "quick pizza" together in his absence.

One email said, "I wanted to let you know that the crew really enjoyed the pizza today. Thank you for letting us do that."

Another message from a redacted sender stated, “This is better than a Chinese cookie! Let's go for pizza and grape soda again. No one else can understand."

Additional emails carry subject lines such as “The Pizza Monster!” and include more peculiar uses of the word.

“You mean radiating a soft glow with the look of bliss and excitement. Yeah, that's the pizza...” one message reads.

"These recent Epstein materials do make the financier seem strangely interested in pizza and unusually committed to having it delivered to other people," added Brooks.

There are also recurring references to "pizza and grape soda" in the child sex offender's texts and emails.

Despite the strangeness of the exchanges, a photograph in a text conversation between Epstein and his urologist appears to indicate that on at least one occasion, they were actually discussing pizza and grape soda.

While there has been plenty of speculation in recent weeks about the pizza references, particularly because they appear in both the Epstein and Podesta files, the term "cream cheese," which appears 196 times throughout the Epstein messages, has also raised eyebrows.

In one exchange, a participant wrote, "Lol, I don’t know if cream cheese and baby are on the same level," alongside discussions of scheduling activities that some observers say raise further concern. The phrase also appears in other unsettling contexts, including "cream cheese baby."

The use of cheese and pizza imagery in reference to pedophilia and child abuse is not limited to so-called Pizzagate conspiracy theorists.

In 2020, the Telegraph, a U.K.-based newspaper, reported that a parents' group working to curb the dissemination of child sex abuse material online allegedly found that cheese and pizza emojis were being used as stand-ins for "CP," meaning "child porn."

The founder of the group, a London woman identified only as India, indicated that in some cases, individuals using the emojis shared images of children scraped from parents' social media accounts.

"There are pictures of little boys aged 5 or 6 on the beach in their swimming trunks and chances are that picture was taken by their parents on their holiday," said India. "Somehow that picture has gotten into their hands."

Brooks, prickled by recent declarations by Redditors and others that at least one core Pizzagate claim might have been accurate all along, stated, "If Epstein and his friends did use pizza as a code word for sex, that wouldn’t mean that the original Pizzagate conspiracy theory was correct — even if it was also the case that pizza was a sexual code word in the Podesta emails."

After spending the bulk of his article entertaining the possibility that "a syndicate of pedophiliac celebrities, financiers, and their urologists," equipped with code words, committed "unimaginable acts of cruelty," Brooks spends his final paragraphs attacking those who made similar claims nearly a decade ago.

The NY Mag contributor suggested that such "conspiracists" — not the allegedly vampiric cosmopolitan elites who might refer to their preferred victim types with fast-food references — are "one of the most terrifying forces in 21st-century America."

Having turned his ire away from the dead pedophile and his associates to those Americans searching for justice and accountability, Brooks concluded his article by smearing American democracy as a "well-documented conspiracy of morons."

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Massie drops bombshell after review of unredacted Epstein files, helps put name to alleged co-conspirator

Roughly six weeks past the deadline to publish all of its files on child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department released over 3 million additional pages in response to the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

While the documents provide new insights into Epstein, his degeneracy, and his international network of affluent allies, they are rife with redactions. Lawmakers have, however, been afforded the opportunity to review the unredacted files in person at the DOJ after giving 24 hours' notice.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) rushed to inspect the files at the first available opportunity in hopes of identifying "the men who Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women to," revealed on Monday that he came across "the names of at least six men that have been redacted that are likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files."

'Give the DOJ a chance to say they made a mistake and over-redacted.'

While Massie indicated that it was prudent to identify the men from the House floor or in a committee hearing — where he would be protected from civil lawsuits over perceived defamation or libel — he told reporters that "at least one is a U.S. citizen, at least one is a foreigner, and the other three or four have names I'm not sure if they're foreign or U.S."

"One is pretty high up in a foreign government," added Massie.

Khanna, addressing reporters jointly with the Kentucky Republican, chimed in to note that "one of the others is a pretty prominent individual." The Democrat suggested there may be more questionably redacted names, stressing they had only scratched the surface with their two-hour review.

Photo by Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The Kentucky Republican noted, "I would like to give the DOJ a chance to say they made a mistake and over-redacted and let them unredact those men's names."

'It wasn't unredacted until tonight.'

The DOJ seized upon the opportunity to make some adjustments.

Massie noted later on Monday that the DOJ had unredacted both "an FBI file that LABELS two individuals as co-conspirators" and "a file that lists several men who might be implicated."

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that the DOJ unredacted former Victoria's Secret CEO Lex Wexner's name from a 2019 FBI document identifying him as a possible co-conspirator in Epstein's sex-trafficking case. He noted that Wexner's name appears "thousands of times" elsewhere in the Epstein files and stated, "DOJ is hiding nothing."

"This is significant because Kash Patel testified to Congress that FBI had no evidence of other sex traffickers," Massie said in response. "This is FBI’s own 2019 document listing Wexner as coconspirator in child sex trafficking. It wasn't unredacted until tonight."

The DOJ standards recommend against identifying unindicted co-conspirators unless they have been charged with the same conspiracy by way of unsealed criminal complaint or information. The document Massie referred to alleges that Wexner was a co-conspirator of Epstein.

Wexner stated in July 2019 that he had long since severed any connection with Epstein and "would not have continued to work with any individual capable of such egregious, sickening behavior as has been reported about him."

"When Mr. Epstein was my personal money manager, he was involved in many aspects of my financial life. But let me assure you that I was NEVER aware of the illegal activity charged in the indictment," added Wexner.

Department of Justice

Blaze News has reached out to the Wexner Foundation for comment.

'They're trafficking girls all across the world.'

The Epstein Files Transparency Act permits the DOJ to redact portions of records that:

"contain personally identifiable information of victims or victims’ personal and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy";
depict child pornography;
"would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary";
"depict or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury of any person"; or
"contain information specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order."

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who also reviewed the documents on Monday, concluded that there are "lots of co-conspirators," reported CNN.

"I mean, it's disgusting," said Moskowitz. "There are lots of names, lots of co-conspirators, and they're trafficking girls all across the world."

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Why are so many people all of a sudden saying Epstein is alive?

The Department of Justice's publication last month of over 3 million additional pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images from the Jeffrey Epstein files provided the public with new insights into the child sex offender, his degeneracy, his business dealings, and his international network of affluent friends.

The files, which are replete with odd and in many cases damning communications — already triggering at least one criminal investigation in the United Kingdom — have prompted renewed interest in a number of theories about Epstein.

While many sleuths poring over the files have zeroed in on references to cannibalism and accusations of Epstein and his inner circle allegedly engaging in "ritualistic sacrifice," others appear more focused on what the files have to say about the sex offender's reported death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

Citing discrepancies in the official narrative, admissions about falsified records, and viral claims on social media, skeptics have long theorized that Epstein did not kill himself but was murdered or possibly even secreted away in August 2019.

Despite the newly available autopsy photos and details, these theories are enjoying a second life due in part to certain details in the new files, a viral image of a bearded look-alike, and signs of activity on a video game account name associated with the sex offender.

Epstein in Tel Aviv

An image went viral earlier this month purportedly showing a bearded Jeffrey Epstein alive and well in Israel. On closer examination, however, the image — which was popularized in part by a self-described "unapologetic Muslim Palestinian" and by a Middle Eastern-based news account — showed signs of AI manipulation and/or generation.

For starters, the wording on the street signs is reportedly "gibberish," providing not only incorrect Hebrew and Arabic lettering but in one case referencing a road that doesn't appear to exist.

The Metropolitan Correctional Center. Photo by Don Emmert / AFP via Getty Images.

The supposed photograph of Epstein in Tel Aviv also appears to be a cropped version of an image that appeared days earlier bearing a Gemini AI watermark on the subreddit r/hardaiimages — a destination for AI-generated images designed to give viewers pause.

The pre-emptive death notice

In line with the official narrative, the newly released FBI New York Field Office report regarding Epstein's death — which includes images of paramedics apparently attempting to revive the sex offender, an image of his corpse without his arm tattoo visible, images of his broken hyoid bone and breaks in his thyroid cartilage, and images of his apparent scene of death — asserts that Epstein was found unresponsive and died as the result of an apparent suicide on the morning of Aug. 10, 2019.

However, one of the other newly released files suggested that Epstein died a day earlier.

In the document, which is dated Aug. 9, 2019, then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman stated, "Earlier this morning, the Manhattan Correctional Center confirmed that Jeffrey Epstein, who faced charges brought by this Office of engaging in the sex trafficking of minors, had been found unresponsive in his cell and pronounced dead shortly thereafter."

'Someone's been having fun renaming their Fortnite account.'

"Today's events are disturbing, and we are deeply aware of their potential to present yet another hurdle to giving Epstein's many victims their day in Court," Berman added.

The date on the release as it appears now with an "updated" note on the Justice Department website is Aug. 10, 2019.

The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

While the incorrect date might simply be a typo in a draft release, many online have speculated it is an indication of foreknowledge of Epstein's real or faked death.

Gaming from beyond the grave

Some sleuths who dug into the new trove of Epstein files found mention of the child sex offender's YouTube username, "littlestjeff1." They also found possible evidence that Epstein was active in the video gaming ecosystem after his permanent ban from Xbox live in the form of a May 7, 2019, email highlighting a $25.95 charge for the virtual currency in the game Fortnite.

Justice Department.

In a massively viral and widely shared tweet, the X user @Truthpole noted that some individuals "matched this exact username to a Fortnite profile on Fortnite Tracker ... which showed stats like Silver 1 rank in Chapter 5 Season 1 (post-2019), wins into 2025, and past activity flagged in Israel."

The suggestion that Epstein may have been active on Fortnite after his supposed death was not only advanced in viral posts by other accounts on X but on other social media platforms, including Instagram.

The claim was all the more provocative after littlestjeff1's stats were set to private earlier this month, according to archived page captures highlighted by Snopes.

Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Fornite's developer and publisher Epic Games, weighed in on Feb. 6 to pour cold water on this particular theory, writing, "Someone's been having fun renaming their Fortnite account, but it's recent and not connected to the email addresses in the archive."

The official Fortnite Status account similarly piped up, stating, "This was a ruse by a Fortnite player."

"A few days ago, an existing Fortnite account owner changed their username from something totally unrelated to littlestjeff1, following the revelation of littlestjeff1 as a name on YouTube," the official Fortnite account said. "These Fortnite trackers only display your current name, not any prior changes to it."

The Fortnite Status account noted further, "We have no record of the subject's email addresses referenced in the public document existing in the Epic account system. Since the public document releases, people have created Fortnite accounts with similar-looking email addresses and user names."

When challenged on this explanation and prompted to account for why the apparent Epstein handle appeared to be associated with the game user in a third-party, year-end recap detailing player results in 2025, Fornite Status noted, "Fortnite gg Wrapped shows the account's current name with stats from 2025."

Skepticism still abounds about the explanation from Epic Games, given the mention of the digital Fortnite currency purchase in the Epstein emails; however, in that email, both the sender and the recipient's addresses were redacted. Snopes suggested that other correspondences in the files indicate the game currency purchase pertained to a mother and her child.

Besides eyebrow-raising video game activity, fake sightings, and a questionable DOJ memo, skeptics have also raised questions about other findings in the files, including the mention in an FBI memorandum of a "flash of orange" spotted on surveillance footage heading toward the isolated prison tier where Epstein was housed the night before his body was reportedly found.

A 2023 report on Epstein's death released by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General identified the "orange shape" as a corrections officer carrying linen or inmate clothing.

Video forensic experts expressed to CBS News in August that they were "skeptical about that interpretation and suggested that the shape could be a person dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit climbing the stairs."

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Billionaire Walmart heiress funds anti-Trump chaos, backs radical 'No Kings' protests

Christy Walton, a geriatric heiress to the Walmart fortune who had a 2% stake in the company as of last year, has made no secret of her liberal bent and has proven willing to shovel money into initiatives she apparently reckons will further the cause.

Walton, whose net worth Forbes presently puts north of $19 billion, co-hosted a fundraiser last year for Kamala Harris' doomed presidential campaign and recently poured cash into a group supporting Senate Democrats.

She previously dumped tens of thousands of dollars into the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump group founded by a handful of former Republican operatives, including John Weaver, who allegedly had a habit of sexually harassing young men online. Walton continued donating to the group even after it staged a fake white supremacist rally in late 2021 to smear then-candidate Glenn Youngkin ahead of the Virginia gubernatorial election.

'We will make action everywhere else the story of America that day.'

After throwing her money behind various political failures, she now appears keen to support something more consequential.

While fellow travelers were attacking police and federal law enforcement agents in Los Angeles, the Walmart heiress set about promoting even more unrest, placing a full-page ad in the New York Times on Sunday featuring an image of the Statue of Liberty and a list of collective declarations, including "we defend against aggression by dictators" and "we uphold and defend the Constitution."

While nearly identical to an anodyne ad she placed in the paper in March, Walton's new ad also contained a call to action along with a QR code directing viewers to a website for the "No Kings" demonstrations planned across the country for June 14.

An April 50501-organized protest in Nevada. Photo by KIA RASTAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

According to the organizers' tool kit for the demonstrations, "NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to the increasing authoritarian excesses and corruption of the Trump administration."

The event page notes, "On June 14th, we rise up."

President Donald Trump is planning to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army with a parade in the nation's capital. The No Kings rally is supposed to serve as a leftist counterpoint.

The tool kit states: "Instead of allowing this military parade to be the center of gravity, we will make action everywhere else the story of America that day: people coming together in communities across the country to reject strongman politics and corruption."

While the Associated Press suggested the No Kings rally would involve a march to the White House, organizers claim on their website that they are not holding an event in Washington, D.C., directing fellow travelers in the area to instead find a mobilization in Virginia or Maryland.

National Guard stands watching in front of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles after the anti-ICE riots. Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

No Kings counts among its partners various radical organizations such Planned Parenthood, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and the Organization for Black Struggle. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), fresh off defending his private jet usage to and from speeches condemning inequality, is also apparently a supporter.

Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers boss instrumental in keeping kids out of the classroom during the pandemic, is hosting a "No Kings Day Town Hall" Tuesday evening, promising to help fellow radicals "get ready to organize, mobilize, and build power for the future." Other such events are planned in the lead-up to the nationwide uprising.

The outfit behind the protests promoted by Walton is the 50501 Movement, a leftist anti-Trump protest group.

Blaze News previously reported that the Massachusetts chapter of the 50501 Movement was behind the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in Boston on Monday.

Kylie Bemis, an organizer with 50501, framed the protests as a response to an "act of war."

"This is an attack on American liberty," Bemis said in a statement obtained by Boston.com. "The right to freedom of speech and due process of the law must be protected above all else, and the response by the Trump administration is tantamount to a declaration of war against the American people."

'President Trump will always do what is needed to keep American citizens safe.'

Blaze News reached out to the email provided at the bottom of Walton's ad but did not receive a response by deadline. However, a source familiar with Walton's thinking on the topic told Blaze news that the "ad is a personal message from Christy that focuses on encouraging people to engage peacefully and civically in next weekend's events on June 14th."

"Her message promotes peaceful dialogue and the sharing of diverse views and voices," continued the source. "She condemns violence in all forms and continues to emphasize the importance of listening to one another."

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) intimated that Walton's advertisement might have less to do with ideology and more to do with maximizing the value of her stake in Walmart, noting, "Looks like the Walmart dynasty is big mad about China tariffs."

— (@)

Walmart declined Blaze News' request for comment. The Walton family office could not immediately be reached for comment.

When asked about the forthcoming nationwide protests, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson previously told Blaze News, "Any individual who wants to mimic the violence, lawlessness, and rioting in California should think twice."

"President Trump will always do what is needed to keep American citizens safe, especially when weak Democrat leaders fail to do so," added Jackson.

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Bill Ackman calls on nation to rally behind Trump; calls Newsom a 'disaster'

Bill Ackman, the billionaire founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, admitted in January that while registered to vote in the Democratic primary, he was "no longer a Democrat." At the time, he had sunk donations into the ill-fated Republican campaigns of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy and had also financed Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign.

While Ackman indicated in subsequent months that he might support Trump, the first presidential debate Thursday night evidently sealed the deal.

Trump "is going to win in a landslide," Ackman wrote hours after the debate, which he said was an "indictment of the Democratic Party."

"The country should rally around Trump and help him succeed," added Ackman.

Ackman suggested that when Trump won in 2016, the outcome had been so unexpected that "he was totally unprepared. The lack of preparation, the Russian investigation and the ensuing chaos interfered with his ability to execute."

'They outright lied to you.'

This time around, the billionaire indicated that Trump "knows he is going to win. So does everyone else." Accordingly, the Republican has the luxury of time to "assemble a first class team."

In the meantime, the former Democrat recommended that the country unify around Trump, stressing, "The best thing we can do as citizens is support our next president. We need to align the country around our nation's leader. We have grave global threats we need to deal with and challenging economic times fast approaching."

When pressed on whether California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) might stand in for Biden, Ackman minced no words: "Newsom would be a disaster. Just look at what has become of the great city of San Francisco. Exhibit A in how not to run a city or a state."

Besides imploring other Americans to join him in supporting Trump and understanding that the top Biden alternate is a nonstarter, Ackman also laid into the Biden administration and the liberal media for lying about Biden's decrepitude.

"Left wing media have had total and complete access to the president, his staff, and his administration. They all knew, but they told you otherwise. They outright lied to you," wrote Ackman.

"People very close to me, my closest family and friends, trusted the media on Biden until the @CNN commentators finally owned up to the truth about Biden last night. For months I have been accused by many friends and family of being misled by an @X-based 'right wing echo chamber,'" wrote Ackman. "The sad reality is that one of our most important institutions, the so-called 'Fourth Estate,' fourth only after the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners, has destroyed any remaining credibility it has."

In the wake of its gross distortions of Biden and Trump alike, Ackman underscored, "The media can no longer save itself."

He intimated further, referencing a video of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre hyping Biden's supposed mental acuity, that the administration officials "covering for their boss" have demonstrated disloyalty and and willingness to lie to the American people.

Ackman has joined the ranks of numerous other Wall Street executives who, tired of the chaos unfolding under the current administration, have thrown in their lots with Trump.

Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman, among them, distanced himself from the Republican in 2021, insinuating in a statement that the Jan. 6 riot was linked to the president's remarks. However, he closed the distance last month, telling Axios that the "dramatic rise of anti-Semitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency."

Schwarzman noted, "I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration, and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction. For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for president. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket

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