US President Donald Trump has demanded a “major investigation” into former US vice President Kamala Harris’ use of celebrities in her 2024 presidential campaign, claiming she paid stars like Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen and Bono for their endorsements, a move he alleges was illegal.
In a fiery Truth Social post on Monday, Trump accused Kamala of disguising endorsement payments as entertainment fees to boost her campaign crowds.
“Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “This was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL!”
The president singled out multiple celebrities by name, including Springsteen, who recently called Trump “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous” during a concert in England.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” Trump said in another post. “WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?”
Trump also took aim at Beyoncé, claiming she was paid $11 million to appear onstage, briefly endorse Harris and then exit to boos. “THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION!” he added.
According to campaign finance records reported by Variety and USA Today, Harris’ campaign did pay $1 million to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions and $165,000 to Beyoncé’s company. However, both stars and their teams have denied receiving any personal payments. Winfrey said she took no personal fee, explaining on Instagram that “the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.” Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, also stated that her daughter “did not receive a penny.”
Adrienne Elrod, a senior adviser to Harris, previously clarified that the campaign never paid any artist directly for an endorsement. “We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person,” she told Deadline. She added that there are campaign finance laws they followed, including paying for production and logistics costs tied to events.
Despite the denials, Trump insisted these transactions were improper. “For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system,” he wrote.
Kamala Harris got support from many famous people during her campaign, including Taylor Swift and Eminem. But Donald Trump also had celebrities backing him. In the past, stars like Kid Rock and Kanye West supported Trump. Kid Rock even performed at the Republican National Convention.
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