Trump's triumphal arch may be funded by TikTok settlement meant for child victims: report

Funds from a proposed settlement to end a lawsuit against TikTok could go directly towards building Trump's triumphal arch rather than the child victims the lawsuit was meant to protect, according to a new report.

The social media company TikTok expects to pay $400 million to end the 2024 lawsuit, which came after the Department of Justice "alleged that millions of children under the age of 13 were subjected to extensive data collection and excessive content meant for adults" while using the app, ABC News reported on Friday.

However, instead of giving the money from the settlement to those child victims, "the proposed settlement funds are set to directly support Trump's efforts to improve the appearance of the nation's capital," according to ABC.

Sources told ABC News that the $400 million will go towards "beautification" projects. "Officials in the White House have had weekslong discussions about whether they could legally use the money to pay for Trump's proposed massive 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery," according to ABC News.

"While the Department of Justice regularly reaches settlements with private companies accused of wrongdoing," the proposed TikTok settlement marks a departure from the practice of using the settlement funds to resolve the alleged wrongdoing or compensate victims," ABC News noted.

ABC News reported that TikTok expects to finalize the terms of the settlement on Friday. Neither TikTok nor the White House provided a comment to ABC News.

A federal judge in Massachusetts fired a warning shot at a lawsuit filed by far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office against the Democratic Party fundraising platform, ActBlue.

According to Texas-based political reporter Bayliss Wagner, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns "ruled that ActBlue's countersuit against Texas AG Ken Paxton is likely to prevail on the merits, including their allegation that his lawsuit against the Dem fundraising behemoth violates the First Amendment."

Paxton, a scandal-plagued figure currently challenging John Cornyn in the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary, filed the lawsuit in state court in April, alleging that ActBlue was knowingly facilitating illegal donations from people outside the United States or who had already hit donation limits. It's part of his yearslong crusade against the Massachusetts-based entity, which since its founding in 2004 has grown into one of the largest platforms for transferring money to Democratic Party candidates.

However, Stearns noted in his order that ActBlue's countersuit is likely to prevail, under the precedent set just last week by the Supreme Court's decision in First Choice Women's Resource Centers v. Davenport. That decision, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, held New Jersey's investigation into an anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy center" violated the First Amendment by seeking to expose its confidential donor information.

"In light of the United States Supreme Court's decision ... and other established precedent defining First Amendment associational protections, the court is tentatively of the opinion that plaintiffs ActBlue LLC, ActBlue Civics, Inc., ATS, Inc., and ActBlue Charities, Inc. (collectively, ActBlue) are likely to prevail on some, if not all, elements of Count I of their Complaint," stated Stearns.

His order compelled Paxton to "file a response to both the Complaint and the motion for preliminary injunction by May 27, 2026," and scheduled the hearing on whether to enjoin Paxton's lawsuit on June 4.

Fox Business host Dagen McDowell warned that Americans had "every right to be upset" because President Donald Trump's second term had "gone the wrong way."

During a Friday panel discussion, McDowell agreed with contributor Steve Forbes that Trump was right to pursue fraud within the government. Still, she insisted that alone was not enough to turn the economy around.

"To ignore the way that people feel right now about gasoline prices and mortgage rates," she said. "They're pissed off, and they have every right to be upset."

To make her point, McDowell quoted Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane: "Consumers are literally running out of money."

"When we talk about, hey, the stock market and the AI spend, we sound like a bunch of Democrats!" she continued. "Because that's what the Democrats did when inflation was soaring."

The host noted that inflation was still "a problem for everyday Americans, and they're upset by it... People are strapped. And you can't ignore it."

Forbes argued that Republicans should pass additional tax cuts.

"Go for a big tax cut instead of the skinny bill they're having out there now," he said. "Because right now, they're going into this election, the Republicans. What have you done in the last — oh, you passed a good tax bill in the last year, prevented a disaster. What am I doing? What am I getting now? What have you done now?"

"People voted for President Trump in part to make the cost of living lower and make making ends meet easier and it's gone the wrong way in the last couple months," McDowell agreed.

President Donald Trump responded angrily to ABC News senior correspondent Rachel Scott's question about his focus on renovation projects in Washington, D.C., during an ongoing war in Iran and rising gas prices.

Scott asked, "Why focus on all these projects as gas prices soar?" Trump defended the work, stating, "I want to keep our country beautiful and safe."

The president described the Capitol as "a disgusting place," claiming workers removed "11 or 12 truckloads of garbage" from the Reflecting Pool and surrounding areas. He then criticized Scott's question, describing it as stupid, and added, "This is one of the worst reporters, she's with ABC Fake News, and she's a horror show."

Trump argued, maintaining beauty and cleanliness in the nation's capital was fundamental to what made the country great, adding, "A question like that is a disgrace to our country."

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