President Trump is pressing for a “major investigation” into why some celebrities lined up to support former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, questioning whether megastars Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Bono were illegally paid for their endorsements under the guise of performance fees.
“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???” He wrote in a post on Truth Social early Monday morning, nearly six months after he beat Harris in the election.
“I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” the president added. “In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’ this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
The White House didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s request for more details about what investigative body Trump wants to see take up the issue.
Harris’s campaign held a number of star-studded events during her four-month bid against Trump after then-President Biden abruptly dropped out of the race.
Winfrey openly denied being paid to back Harris.
“I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign,” Winfrey wrote on Instagram last fall.
She added that her production company was paid only to cover the incurred costs of events.
“The people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story,” she wrote.
Springsteen, meanwhile, has become an outspoken foe of Trump, with the president posting last week his dislike of the legendary rocker, after Springsteen lambasted his administration during a performance overseas.
“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK,” Trump wrote on social media Friday, going on to call the New Jersey icon a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker.”
Trump followed up his initial post on Monday with another message a few hours later asking whether entertainers were paid for their Harris endorsements. He specifically cited Beyonce, who appeared with Harris during a rally in Houston last October. Harris’s campaign faced backlash after the singer showed up but didn’t perform.
“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! 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!” Trump said.
“BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!” he added.
It’s unclear where Trump found the $11 million figure.
The Harris campaign has denied it paid Beyonce $10 million for an endorsement, an unfounded, unsourced claim that circulated around the time of the superstar’s appearance.
Federal Elections Commission records show the Harris campaign paid Beyonce’s production company Parkwood Production Media LLC $165,000 after the Texas event. Such reimbursements are often associated with large event production — staging, sound and lighting — costs, which cannot be donated to political campaigns.
Updated at 11:00 a.m. EDT