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‘Deep ties to the CCP’: Meet the vaping lobbyist ramping up pressure on Trump to save ‘illicit’ vape industry
FIRST ON FOX: A top vaping lobbyist, whose group worked closely with the Trump campaign last year and is now ramping up pressure on the Trump administration to «uphold their promise to save the flavored vaping industry,» has extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a Fox News Digital review found.
Tony Abboud, the Illinois-based executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, made several smaller donations to pro-Trump GOP Senate candidates ahead of the 2024 election and met with then-candidate Donald Trump weeks before the election in a push to protect the vaping industry.
However, his past ties to the Democratic Party and CCP are setting off alarm bells with a political operative close to the Trump administration and a top Republican Congressional leadership aide as Abboud’s group ramps up pressure on the Trump administration and lobbies several states to oppose directory bills, which would crack down on Chinese vape companies.
«Tony Abboud and Vapor Technology Association have deep ties to the CCP and Never-Trumpers,» a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. «This goes against everything President Trump stands for, which is loyalty and reining in CCP influence, especially when it comes to illicit drugs pouring across the border.»
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Tony Abboud and other members of the Global Vape Alliance toast each other at 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany (Left) and (Right) Tony Abboud and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump pose for photo after a private meeting weeks before the 2024 election. (Global Vape Alliance/Vapor Technology Association X screenshot)
Abboud, who previously donated thousands between Obama’s Senate campaign and failed House campaign, among other Democrats, and his vaping group have a close relationship with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC), an entity of the CCP.
Abboud’s VTA and the ECCC previously had an informal relationship but officially inked an official partnership together in late 2023, forming the Global Vape Alliance, which includes the UK Vaping Industry Association and the Independent European Vape Alliance. This alliance led to cooperation between the different entities, which entails sharing «information and strategies for best practices to educate and guide member companies on existing laws, regulations and industry standards.»
«The Alliance will share strategies for the promotion of the healthy development of the global vaping industry, and as a unified voice for the industry, will look to empower their member companies by promoting the sophistication, professionalism, and importance of the industry,» the declaration continued.
«VTA–like Temu, Shein, and TikTok–is well known for putting the interests of Chinese companies ahead of Americans,» a top Republican Congressional leadership aide warned in a statement to Fox News Digital. «No Hill Republicans are take their lobbying seriously and they should be ashamed for lobbying for interests connected to the Chinese Communist Party. American kids deserve a lot better.»
However, a senior adviser to the 2024 Trump campaign dismissed criticism of the group and Abboud, telling Fox News Digital that the «idea that VTA is an anti-Trump group is downright dishonest and utterly laughable.»
«Not only did they support President Trump’s re-election financially, but they also worked closely with the Trump campaign on a get-out-the-vote program targeting pro-vaping voters in support of the President in all the battleground states,» the former senior adviser said. «Their GOTV operation was so robust that it didn’t just extend to the President himself, but it was also used to support Trump-endorsed MAGA Senate candidates like Bernie Moreno in Ohio.»
President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended national security advisor Mike Waltz amid fallout over the Signal group chat. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)
The ECCC, which partners with Abboud’s group, was established in Shenzhen, China, in January 2017 and operates under the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (CECC), which is registered with the CCP’s Ministry of Civil Affairs of P. R. China.
A Fox News Digital review found that some of the top leaders of the CECC are former high-ranking members of the CCP, which includes a former member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a former Vice Premier of the State Council, and a former vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the «key mechanism for multi-party cooperation and political consultation» under the leadership of the CCP, according to the CPPCC website.
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As the executive director of VTA, Abboud has met with Ao Weinuo, the Secretary-General of the ECCC, several times over the years and is featured in several photos with Abboud.
In a batch of photos from the 2023 InterTabac trade show in Germany, which is where the Global Vape Alliance was officially announced, Weinuo and Abboud posed together for several photographs, including one where the pair and a couple other guys from the GVA toasted each other with their drinks. During the meeting portion of the event, Weinuo and Abboud were also on the same panel that appeared to be going after the Biden administration’s FDA for feeding a «false narrative.»
That same year, Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of «Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.» In the background of the photo, which included Abboud’s business partner, the hammer and sickle CCP emblem was visible.
In a promotional video that ECCC posted on Tencent in 2021, ECCC emphasized their goals for Chinese domination and price control in the vaping market, saying, «China has the pricing power» and «influence,» according to English subtitles provided by ECCC.
Weinuo and the ECCC members participated in a team-building outing with the theme of «Seeking Red Footprints and Drawing Strength for Progress.» (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
When pressed for comment on VTA’s ties to China and the CCP, Abboud did not address them and instead talked about how he was a «former Democrat who became a Republican because of President Trump» and that «Joe Biden spent 4 years attempting to shut down and bankrupt American vape companies across the country and President Trump is the only person we trust to reverse Biden’s anti-vaping policies and save our industry.»
The political operative close to the Trump administration pushed back, pointing to a Linkedin post from Abboud’s group, which showed Abboud networking with Democrats, including then-DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, at the 2024 DNC Convention. The post said that VTA sponsored events for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Choose Atlanta and the Democratic Party of Virginia.
«I’m even more proud that VTA mobilized 360,000 voters to help overwhelmingly return President Trump to the White House because we know that after years of failed Democratic leadership, he is the champion our industry desperately needs,» continued Abboud, who along with VTA, also attended the RNC Convention and moderated a fireside chat. «The brazen attempts to distort our fight to save this industry are nothing more than coordinated attacks from competitors in the tobacco industry who are working with radical leftwingers like Letitia James and would stand to benefit financially from destroying American vape companies nationwide.»
«That would ultimately mean the loss of billions of U.S. tax revenue, hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and tens of thousands of small businesses across this great country,» he concluded.
In December 2023, Abboud traveled to China and participated in ECCC’s first «International Key Buyers Exchange Meeting» in Shenzhen, which included Weinuo as one of the leaders, according to photos reviewed by Fox News Digital.
According to a press release, «The special committee gave full play to its international influence and ‘brought in’ high-quality overseas wholesalers and brand owners, aiming to connect member companies with overseas resources and channels, and help Chinese e-cigarette products sell better in the international market.»
Abboud would then partner with Weinuo and ECCC a few months later in February 2024 at the Total Product Expo in Las Vegas. The expo was aimed at helping China gain greater access to the U.S. market and attracted more than 600 companies from around the world, including more than 100 exhibitors from China. A press release highlighting the event shows several photos of Abboud and Weinuo together as they hosted an after-party for the crowded event.
Tony Abboud (second from left) poses with Ao Weinuo (center), the Secretary-General of the ECCC, and others at Total Product Expo in Las Vegas in February 2024. (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
A person familiar with the inner workings of Abboud’s VTA downplayed concerns about the group’s ties to China and the CCP, telling Fox News Digital that «Every tobacco company in the industry has their own manufacturing in China» and that the «biggest tobacco companies also have joint ventures directly with the Chinese tobacco monopoly.» The person went on to emphasize that the Global Vape Alliance is engaged «against the black market» and is focusing «its joint efforts on combating the illegal trade in e-cigarettes,» among other initiatives.
In September 2024, Weinuo was invited to deliver remarks on behalf of ECCC at the New Tobacco (E-cigarette) Forum at the New Approaches Summit in New York City, which Abboud also attended. An ECCC press release on the event touts Weinuo as the «first representative of the Chinese e-cigarette industry to participate in the forum in history» and said the «ECCC delegation has attracted much attention at this forum.»
Tony Abboud (Center) poses with Ao Weinuo (Center Right), the Secretary-General of the ECCC, and others at the New Tobacco (E-cigarette) Forum in New York City in September 2024. (Electronic Cigarette Industry Committee of the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).)
The press release went on to say that the «United States has the world’s largest and most influential benchmark market» and that the «ECCC delegation’s participation in this forum is of great significance.»
«It not only uses the international platform to send out a positive voice for the industry and establish a good image of Chinese e-cigarette products in the world, but also demonstrates the ECCC’s far-reaching collaborative work ability and influence in the world as the organization of Chinese e-cigarette companies,» the press release continued, highlighting that multiple current and former leaders from the World Health Organization were in attendance. «It is a concrete action to ‘tell the Chinese story well to the outside world.’»
In December 2024, Abboud visited ECCC in China for supplier and vendor conversations, where he received a «thank you prize for speaking,» according to an individual familiar with the event. A press release highlights how «more than 30 internationally renowned wholesalers and channel dealers from 10 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, France, Canada, Spain, Romania» visited ECCC as an international delegation to «accelerate the resource matching and docking of Chinese and foreign electronic cigarettes.»
In addition to Abboud, multiple people on the board of directors for his VTA have ties to China, including Magellan and Demand Vape owner Jon Glauser, who said in a 2023 deposition that he has a «good relationship with every manufacturer over» in China and that he has «spent quite a bit of time in Shenzhen, China, over the years,» noting that this is «where 99 percent of e-cigarettes are made.»
«We form a relationship with them, buy it from them either as a master distributor or distributor,» he added.
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Geoff Habicht is another member of VTA’s board of directors and serves as the CEO of Mi-Pod, an Arizona-based company that imports numerous vape juices from China.
Mi-Pod was recently the subject of a letter from the ranking Democratic member of the House Committee Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party for importing vape products that were banned for domestic sale in China and were the subject of safety concern in the United States.
In addition to the board of directors, several vape companies that are included in VTA’s membership, which range from $500 to $200,000 membership levels to join, are Chinese companies, including VooPoo, which has donated at least $100,000 to be a member of VTA, according to its website.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
China,Donald Trump,Joe Biden
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Volodimir Zelenski insiste en reunirse con Vladimir Putin mientras Rusia intensifica los bombardeos en Ucrania
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Fuego y humo sobre Járkov, Ucrania, tras un ataque de Rusia con drones. Foto: EFE Ataques con drones y bombas
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Some members of the group charged in the Prairieland Detention Center anti-ICE attack on Independence Day have been arrested in the past for protest activities.
Ines Soto, who is part of the group of ten charged with attempted murder of federal officers and firearm offenses, was arrested at a protest in 2016 for allegedly resisting arrest and trying to avoid detention, according to K-HOU 11 at the time.
The protest was against a speech by Richard Spencer at Texas A&M University. The outlet My Aggie Nation noted that Soto was 31 in 2016, which corroborates with a KERA News report stating that Soto is now 40 years old and was released on a $10,000 bond.
FBI CAPTURES FORMER MARINE CORPS RESERVIST ACCUSED OF SHOOTING AT ICE OFFICERS AT TEXAS DETENTION CENTER
Ten suspects were charged with attempted murder of a federal officer in connection with the July 4, 2025, ambush attack on the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office)
Meanwhile, KERA News reported that Savanna Batten partook in the Occupy Wall Street movement through an «Occupy Dallas» protest in 2011, where she was arrested for allegedly not allowing people to come and go from a Chase Bank. The case was ultimately dismissed, as a criminal trespassing charge was scrapped in exchange for 24 community service hours, the outlet reported.
Batten also specifically has a history of anti-ICE activism, as she was charged for allegedly blocking a highway in June 2018 near a Dallas ICE facility, and the charge for that was also dismissed in 2019 as part of a program.
Fox News Digital reported last week that Benjamin Song, who was captured by the FBI last week, had a known protest background. He was named in a 2023 lawsuit over a counter-protest to the New Columbia Movement at a drag brunch in Fort Worth, Texas. The lawsuit noted Song was tied with a pro-arms leftist group, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club.
UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS EXPOSE RADICAL VIEWS OF ANTI-ICE SHOOTING SUSPECT CAPTURED BY FBI
During the Prairieland Detention Center attack, cars were vandalized with anti-ICE messages such as «Ice Pig.» (Justice Department)
In addition, he was also arrested in 2020 during a protest in Austin for allegedly assaulting a public servant, according to Fox 4.
Song’s social media profiles also indicated that he was extremely vocal online about his stances and activism, and also appeared to use a martial arts studio tied to his mother to film tactical exercises.
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«Do you want to end mass shootings? Abolish the police,» he posted in June 2022 under the X handle, BubbleBreakBS.
Song, a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist, is accused of firing two AR-15-style rifles at two correctional officers and one Alvarado police officer, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.
MORE DETAILS REVEALED ON SUSPECTS IN INDEPENDENCE DAY ICE ATTACK IN TEXAS
Savanna Batten (left) and Ines Soto (right) are both charged with attempted murder and firearms offenses in an anti-ICE Texas attack on July 4, 2025. (Johnson County Jail/)
«Make no mistake, this was not a peaceful protest,» Acting U.S. Attorney Nancy E. Larson said in a July 8 statement. «This was an ambush on federal and local law enforcement officers. This increasing trend of violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated in the Northern District of Texas. Those who use violence against law enforcement officers will be found and prosecuted using the toughest criminal statutes and penalties available.»
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A local police officer was shot in the neck by a suspect in the woods, according to the complaint. Another assailant allegedly fired dozens of rounds at unarmed correctional officers who had stepped outside the facility. Cars outside the facility were vandalized with «Ice pig» and «Traitor,» as authorities obtained anti-government literature from those involved, as well as a flag that said «Fight Fascism, Fight Oligarchy.»
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Hay canciones que pasan a la historia, ya sea por su melodía, por las voces que las interpretan o sus letras. The Independent realizó un ranking de las 40 mejores letras de canciones en inglés de todos los tiempos. Bandas como Nirvana, The Beatles o Abba forman parte del listado. Según el ranking, las canciones se destacaron no solo por su música o interpretación, sino también por la fuerza de sus palabras, capaces de dejar una huella en distintas generaciones.
La lista está encabezada por ‘All Apologies’ de Nirvana. El tema está incluido en el álbum In Utero de 1993. Cobain escribió esta canción dirigiéndose tanto a Courtney Love como a su hija, Frances Bean. Para muchos, este track logra transmitir con especial nitidez el malestar interno y la rabia del músico, a la vez que se entrelaza con una profunda declaración de amor hacia su familia.
Según The Independent, el mensaje contenido en esta canción supera la tragedia personal de Cobain y subraya la permanencia del afecto más allá de la ausencia física. Apenas seis meses después del lanzamiento, el artista se quitó la vida y dejó atrás de sí un tema que muchos consideran imprescindible para comprender el significado de su legado artístico.
El listado continúa con Nine Inch Nails, ‘Hurt’. El tema, escrito e interpretado por Trent Reznor, hace un retrato directo de la autodestrucción y el sufrimiento, elementos presentes desde la primera grabación. Si bien Reznor nunca precisó si el trasfondo hace referencia al consumo de heroína, el texto y la atmósfera de la canción transmiten una carga emotiva que oscila entre el dolor y una poesía sombría.
Joy Division con su hit ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ da continuidad al ranking. “¿Por qué el dormitorio está tan frío volteado de tu lado?, ¿Mi sincronización es tan imperfecta, nuestro respeto se ha agotado?“, cita la letra. El sencillo, escrito por Ian Curtis, refleja matices de su propia experiencia personal, marcada por la crisis matrimonial y una inminente tragedia.
La canción sobresale por una combinación de melodía vibrante y una lírica de gran vulnerabilidad. La composición no transmite un mensaje sombrío en sí mismo, sino que transforma su tristeza en una pieza conmovedora, donde la humanidad del autor adquiere toda su dimensión.
Arcade Fire, ‘Sprawl II Mountains Beyond Mountains’ continúa la lista. Junto a la voz de Régine Chassagne, la canción aporta una atmósfera única. La melodía logra materializar emociones latentes y anhelos de escapar de la uniformidad.
El ranking, presentado por The Independent, sigue con Beyoncé, ‘Formation’; Laura Marling, ‘Ghosts’; LCD Soundsystem, ‘Losing My Edge’; Leonard Cohen, ‘So Long, Marianne’; The Libertines, ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’; Kate Bush, ‘Cloudbusting’; Nick Cave, ‘Into My Arms’; The Sisters of Mercy, ‘This Corrosion’ y Sultans of Ping FC con ‘Where’s Me Jumper?’
Seguidamente, el medio español posicionó entre los mejores temas a ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’, de The Smiths; ‘I’m On Fire’ de Bruce Springsteen; ‘Father Lucifer’ de Tori Amos; ‘Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos’ de Public Enemy y ‘Pools (Drank)’ de Kendrick Lamar.
Mientras la comunidad afroamericana afrontaba las consecuencias de políticas conservadoras, Prince decidió abordar en su tema principal cuestiones como la violencia asociada a las pandillas, la pandemia del sida, tensiones políticas y catástrofes naturales. Con este enfoque, el cantante dejó atrás su aislamiento creativo y presentó ‘Sign O ‘The Times’, una canción donde la reflexión social y el comentario sobre realidades urgentes pasaron a primer plano.
En el listado no podían faltar los Rolling Stones. Si bien tienen grandes letras, en ‘Gimme Shelter’ recrean la atmósfera de inestabilidad y amenaza constante de la época. La composición captura el miedo y la incertidumbre de una sociedad al borde de la ruptura. Asimismo consolida el legado de Mick Jagger, Keith Richards y sus compañeros como cronistas musicales de un periodo turbulento.
Si de turbulencias se trata, David Bowie es uno de los artistas que, durante su vida, atravesó momentos turbulentos. Estos periodos fueron de gran inspiración para el músico a la hora de componer. ‘Station to Station’ es una de las canciones grabadas en los días más oscuros de Bowie. El músico lidiaba con su adicción a las drogas en Los Ángeles mientras buscaba refugio en las letras.
El ranking continúa con ‘Supersonic’, de Oasis; ‘Born Slippy’ de Underworld; ‘Landslide’ de Fleetwood Mac; ‘Graceland’ de Paul Simon; ‘Take a Walk on the Wild Side’ de Lou Reed; ‘Every Time the Sun Comes Up’, de Sharon Van Etten; ‘Gloria’ de Patti Smith; y ‘Hotel California’ de Eagles.
Thin Lizzy sigue el listado con ‘The Boys are Back in Town’. Le sigue Nina Simone con ‘Four Women’; St. Vincent ‘Digital Witnesses’; Frank Ocean con ‘Pink + White’. El ranking continúa con ‘Dinner at Eight’ de Rufus Wainwright; ‘It’s Alright Ma’’ de Bob Dylan; ‘The Winner Takes it All’ de Abba y ‘I Wanna Be Adored’ de The Stone Roses.
En los tres últimos puestos se encuentran ‘The World is Yours’ de Nas; ‘When I’m Sixty Four’ de The Beatles y Beck con ‘Loser’. Este último es uno de los éxitos más recordados de Beck. Surgió a partir de una autocrítica espontánea después de escuchar una versión preliminar del tema. El propio músico reconoció sentirse «el peor rapero del mundo» y se definió como “un perdedor”.
Esta percepción no solo alimentó el concepto de la canción, sino que inspiró el famoso estribillo que acabó identificando al tema. A pesar de la aparente falta de coherencia en la letra, la composición logra crear una atmósfera singular gracias a su escritura en flujo de conciencia, un recurso que genera magnetismo incluso en lo absurdo.
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