Trump blasts celebs that backed Harris
President Donald Trump blasted a handful of celebrities and his former rival Kamal Harris in a series of late night statements claiming “illegal” contributions during the 2024 campaign.
According to the 47th President, he’s “going to call for a major investigation” into the stars and celebrities that boosted Harris’ campaign, including Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce, because, as he sees it, the endorsements represent illegal campaign contributions.
“How much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president? Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers? Isn’t that a major and illegal campaign contribution? What about Beyoncé? …and how much went to Oprah, and Bono???” Trump wrote (in all caps) on his social media platform just after 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Trump said an investigation is necessary, because “candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.”
Harris’ campaign has denied that she paid for the endorsements, and her campaign finance records do not appear to support Trump’s assertion.
Financial disclosures do show that Harpo Productions, the company owned by Oprah Winfrey, was paid $1 million for production of a Harris event, while Beyoncé’s company Parkwood Production Media was paid $165,000 for a separate event.
However, Winfrey has herself denied that she was paid for her endorsement, noting that the employees of her production company had to be paid for the work they did for the event the produced, while Beyoncé’s publicist told PolitiFact — and her mother confirmed — that the singer was not paid for her endorsement of Harris.
Trump isn’t buying it, if his social media musings are any guide, and it’s not just Harris that the commander-in-chief is mad at but also the celebrities themselves.
“For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system,” he said.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump added. He wasn’t done, though.
“According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG,” he wrote.
But financial disclosures do not back up Trump’s claims.
“Remember, the Democrats and Kamala illegally paid her millions of Dollars for doing nothing other than giving Kamala a full throated ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO,” the Trump wrote, emphasis his.
Trump’s tirade comes after Springsteen, during a recent tour of Europe, paused during his show to share his thoughts on the administration with his audience. The iconic rock musician said that “my home, America, the America I’ve written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration,” citing the administration’s efforts at mass deportation and the arrest of people by masked agents of the government.
Trump responded by calling the 20-time Grammy winning Academy Awardee with two Golden Globes and a Special Tony Award under his belt “Highly Overrated” and a “dried up prune.”
