President Donald Trump alleged without evidence that stars like Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé were paid by Kamala Harris to endorse her campaign
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WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said he plans to call for a “major investigation” into the celebrity endorsements that Kamala Harris received during the 2024 campaign, alleging without evidence that Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, U2’s Bono and Beyoncé were paid to publicly support the Democratic nominee.
Representatives of several of the entertainers targeted by Trump − all of whom have previously endorsed Democratic candidates for president − rejected rumors that they were paid for their endorsements of Harris.
Trump, in a 1:34 a.m. EDT May 19 post on Truth social, accused Harris of paying for their endorsements “under the guise of paying for entertainment” in a “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,” Trump said.
Trump did not elaborate on the investigation he has in mind or what entity he wants to lead it. The Federal Election Commission does not have rules explicitly prohibiting candidates from paying for endorsements.
Trump followed up on his overnight social media post with a subsequent post at 9:11 am EDT singling out Beyoncé with an unfounded claim involving a rally she hosted in October 2024 for Harris in Houston. Trump wrote that “according to news report” Beyoncé was paid $11 million “to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG!”
It is unclear where Trump got the unsubstantiated $11 million figure. The Harris campaign last year rejected an unfounded rumor that it paid Beyoncé $10 million for her endorsement that began on social media shortly after the music star’s October 2024 appearance with Harris.
“BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!” Trump said in his post.
Springsteen, Beyoncé and Bono have a history of backing liberal causes. Beyoncé, Springsteen and Winfrey endorsed former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in previous elections, including the 2016 and 2020 races in which Trump was the Republican nominee.
Beyoncé granted Harris permission to use her song “Freedom” as the anthem of her 2024 campaign. Winfrey, a registered independent voter who previously endorsed Clinton and Obama, delivered a forceful case for Harris during a rare dive into national politics at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
A representative of Harris did not immediately response to a request for comment.
The Harris campaign paid $165,000 to Beyoncé’s production company, Parkwood Production Media LLC, according to finance records reported to the Federal Election Commission. The payment came about a month after the two appeared together at the Houston rally. Beyoncé did not perform at the rally but instead spoke about her support for Harris alongside her Destiny’s Child group mate, Kelly Rowland.
Tina Knowles, the mother of Beyoncé, pushed back at the $10 million rumor at the time, calling it “false information” and a “lie” in a post on Instagram. “In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team,” Knowles said.
Trump escalates his feud with Bruce Springsteen
The Harris campaign, which spent lavishly after raising more than $1 billion over just 107 days, also paid $1 million to Harpo Productions, the company Winfrey owns, after the television star hosted a town hall event for Harris that featured appearance from other celebrities such as comedian Chris Rock, actresses Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, actor Ben Stiller, and singer Jennifer Lopez.
The payments to Winfrey’s production company came in two $500,000 sums on Oct. 15, 2024. Winfrey said the money went to employees who put on the event, not to her personally. “I did not take any personal fee,” Winfrey said in a video posted on Instagram. “However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Trump’s focus on Springsteen comes after Trump lashed out at the rock icon con after he condemned the president’s “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration” during the first show of his British tour last week.
“Never liked him, never liked his music, or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy,’ Trump said in a May 16 post on Truth Social. “Just a pushy, obnoxious JERK, who fervently supported Crooked Joe Biden.”
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.