Trump calls for investigation into Kamala Harris's massive payments to celebrities
President Donald Trump is calling for an investigation into former Vice President Kamala Harris's massive payments to celebrities during the election.
Trump took to Truth Social on Monday to call attention to Harris's massive payments that Trump suspects may have broken election laws. Harris's campaign reportedly paid out millions to big names like Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey.
In an extensive post, Trump pointed out that, "Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL!"
Trump also highlighted payments made to Bruce Springsteen, who slammed Trump as the "most dangerous candidate” in American history while endorsing Harris.
Trump's point that Harris may have paid for endorsements via "entertainment" validates many complaints that political observers had. Harris's disastrous 2024 campaign may not be over after all, as there could be serious litigation coming her way.
Possible violation of campaign laws
The Harris campaign made extensive use of celebrities to boost Harris's lack of popular support. Where Trump had legions of attendees at his rallies, Harris had celebrities whom she paid millions to support her.
Originally, the payments made to the likes of Winfrey and Beyoncé were not made public, and it was only after some investigation that it became apparent that Harris had paid millions to celebrities to make appearances at rallies.
Abusing his caps lock key, Trump continued in his post, saying, "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???"
While the Harris campaign claims that these celebrities were paid to entertain at Harris's rallies, this claim doesn't hold up, as some appearances contained no performance.
In the case of Beyoncé, she appeared to endorse Harris but did not perform at the rally, meaning that the thinly veiled "entertainment" defense doesn't hold up.
During her appearance at a Harris rally, Beyonce told attendees, "I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided... We must vote, and we need you."
Massive payouts
Harris's campaign reportedly spent in the region of $20 million to pay celebrities to endorse, appear, or perform at multiple events leading up to November's election.
Expenses were so significant that the Harris campaign ended up cancelling an appearance by Alanis Morissette to perform at a rally for Harris two days before the election.
Harris's spending spree left the Democrat Party in chaos, and there are reportedly still questions about financial solvency being resolved. However, things are only going to get worse as Trump pushes the DOJ to take a look into what campaign laws Harris broke.