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US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he plans to initiate a “major investigation” into his 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris, regarding celebrities who supported her unsuccessful presidential campaign.
He claimed on his Truth Social platform, “Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, disguised as paying for entertainment.”
He further stated, “I will be calling for a substantial investigation into this issue.”
Harris attempted to leverage the influence of celebrities like Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey during her electoral bid. Winfrey defended a $1 million fee received by her production company from Harris’s campaign, intended to cover the expenses of her hosting the candidate.
Meanwhile, Harris’s team refuted rumors that she paid Beyonce $10 million to appear at a rally. The Harris campaign reported a single endorsement-related expense of $75 in its financial disclosures to an environmental advocacy organization.
Trump, who won the election decisively, had minimal backing from the entertainment sector but engaged a specific audience of strong, masculine figures, such as podcast host Joe Rogan.
On Monday, Trump criticized Beyonce, Winfrey, and Bruce Springsteen, questioning how much Harris paid Springsteen for his lackluster performance at a rally in Georgia shortly before the election.
He asked, “Why did he accept that money if he is such a fan of hers?” Recently, Trump took to Truth Social to respond to Springsteen after the artist characterized the U.S. government as being led by a “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration” during a concert in Britain.
The 78-year-old Republican labeled Springsteen, who is an outspoken critic of him and supported Harris following Biden's withdrawal from the race, as “Highly Overrated.”
