President urges \u2018major investigation\u2019 of Beyonc\u00e9, Oprah, Bruce Springsteen and others in late-night social media rant<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Donald Trump<\/a> laced into a few celebrities who endorsed Kamala Harris<\/a> in late night and early morning screeds on Monday, saying he would investigate them to see if they were paid for the endorsements \u2013 repeating a common refrain on the right about the star-studded list of Harris supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow much did Kamala Harris pay Bruce Springsteen for his poor performance during her campaign for president?\u201d Trump posted in all caps on Truth Social<\/a> at 1.34am Monday. \u201cWhy did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers? Isn\u2019t that a major and illegal campaign contribution? \u2026And how much went to Oprah, and Bono???\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said he would \u201ccall for a major investigation\u201d into the issue, claiming Harris was illegally paying for endorsements \u201cunder the guise of paying for entertainment\u201d and that these efforts artificially boosted her campaign and crowds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIT\u2019S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic \u2018entertainers,\u2019 this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Monday morning, he expanded his claims and said without evidence that Beyonc\u00e9<\/a> was paid $11m to walk on stage and endorse Harris without performing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is an illegal election scam at the highest level! It is an illegal campaign contribution! Bruce Springsteen<\/a>, Oprah, Bono and, perhaps, many others, have a lot of explaining to do!!!\u201d Trump wrote in all caps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump is increasingly using the US justice department to carry out his retribution agenda, directing it to investigate his opponents and end investigations into his allies. These moves have led some legal experts to call<\/a> the department Trump\u2019s \u201cpersonal law firm\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump, a frequent courter of celebrities, has recently taken aim at several high-profile performers who endorsed or otherwise supported Harris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Bruce Springsteen<\/a> spoke out strongly against the Trump administration for its stripping of freedoms, Trump called the New Jersey icon<\/a> a \u201cdried out \u2018prune\u2019 of a rocker\u201d. Before that, he wrote on Truth Social wondering whether \u201canyone noticed that, since I said \u2018I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT<\/a>,\u2019 she\u2019s no longer \u2018HOT?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law does not ban candidates from paying for endorsements, the Federal Election Commission told the factchecking outlet Verify<\/a> in 2022. Though, candidates could run into trouble if they don\u2019t specifically list that an expenditure to a campaign was in exchange for an endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The claims that Harris paid celebrities to endorse her are not new, but Trump didn\u2019t offer any evidence to support them. The Harris campaign has denied it paid anyone to endorse her, and the celebrities involved have also denied they were paid for an endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Campaign finance reports show Oprah\u2019s production company, Harpo, was paid $1m for a town hall event by the Harris campaign, while Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s production company was paid $165,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oprah has strenuously denied being paid any money to endorse Harris. She wrote on Instagram that she \u201cwas not paid a dime\u201d but that \u201cthe people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.\u201d Her company brought in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers, benches, chairs \u2013 anything required to carry out the event, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tina Knowles, Beyonc\u00e9\u2019s mother, posted about<\/a> false claims circulated by the rightwing media personality Candace Owens about Beyonc\u00e9 getting paid to endorse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a>. When In Fact : Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris\u2019s Rally in Houston. In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam,\u201d Knowles wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n