Trenton, NJ – Assembly Republican Leader Dawn Fantasia took to social media Tuesday with a fiery post blasting Democratic leadership in Trenton, accusing them of mismanaging federal funds, wasting money on “vanity projects,” and shifting blame for New Jersey’s financial struggles onto Washington.
In a thread that tagged U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill and GOP gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, Fantasia criticized Democrats for what she called “champagne taste” budgeting—funding recreation centers, pickleball courts, and Olympic-sized swimming pools while residents grapple with surging utility and grocery costs.
NJ.com’s owner spending tens of millions on Democrat candidates… Is the media outlet compromised?
The lawmaker took aim at an NJ.com news article that claims Donald Trump is to blame and that the president’s policies are creating a hunger crisis in the state.
According to a New Jersey Globe article, the owner of the left-leaning news website has donated $400,000 to Democrat candidates, including 2025 Democrat candidate for governor, Mikie Sherrill.
“An heir to the $24 billion Newhouse publishing empire that owns NJ.com and the Star-Ledger has contributed over $400,000 to Democratic candidates nationally, and $16,700 to Mikie Sherrill’s campaigns for governor and Congress,” the Globe reported. “Ben Newhouse, a 43-year-old Jersey City resident who runs strategic investments and acquisitions for Advance Media, also pumped thousands of dollars into New Jersey’s 7th district to help Democrats Tom Malinowski and Sue Altman at a time when his newspaper was taking repeated shots at Republican Tom Kean, Jr.”
Let’s call this what it is. Collusion between Trenton Democrats and their shameless media allies to spin a lie. They want you to believe this crisis is the fault of the federal government. IT IS NOT. This is a homegrown disaster caused by Trenton Democrats who bungled federal funds, ignored fraud, and wasted state money on pet projects. Now they have .@MikieSherrill on deck to carry the champagne taste torch. Cut. The. Spin. If you have money for extras, you don’t get to whine when it’s time to pay the bills. You don’t fly first class with the mortgage payment. But that’s exactly what Trenton Democrats have done with your tax dollars. They don’t want to invest in actual needs. They don’t want to dip into the “fun money” pot for this. They want what they want when they want it.
-Dawn Fantasia
“Cut. The. Spin,” Fantasia wrote. “New Jersey families pay the price every single day for Democrat mismanagement, and it’s time to hold them accountable.”
Fantasia argued that school districts, farmers, and small businesses have been shortchanged while Democrats padded the state budget with $700 million in “pork.” She also pushed for stricter conditions on welfare benefits, saying able-bodied adults without dependents should be required to work, attend school, or receive job training in exchange for taxpayer-funded assistance.
As NJ.com blames Trump, later, it admits the problem has been going on for years under Phil Murphy, Joe Biden, and the Democrat led assembly and senate.
“Food insecurity continues to rise in New Jersey, due to numerous factors including inflation, long-term unemployment, and cuts to government assistance programs. According to the Map The Meal Gap, 1.1 million New Jerseyans — about 1 in 9 residents — are considered food insecure, 270,000 of whom are children. That’s an increase of 65% since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the left-leaning outlet reported.
Those figures are from 2024, before Trump took office.
She ended her remarks with a direct call to action: “On November 4th, vote @Jack4NJ and for every Republican on the ballot for the General Assembly.”
The comments came in response to a recent report by nj.com highlighting New Jersey’s growing hunger crisis and funding shortfalls at local food pantries.
Key Points
- Dawn Fantasia accused Trenton Democrats of wasting funds on “pork” and luxury projects.
- She linked rising costs for families to Democratic mismanagement of state money.
- Fantasia urged voters to support Republicans in the November election.
The Republican leader’s post drew a sharp line between state spending priorities and the financial strain facing New Jersey families.