President-elect Donald Trump has accused Democrats of breaking the law based on reports that Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential crusade was funded by celebrities such as singer Beyoncé and media personality Oprah Winfrey.
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ 2024 campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) via email for comment late Saturday afternoon.
Celebrity endorsements can boost a political campaign by reaching demographics they might have trouble reaching otherwise. Celebrities and online influencers have a lot of sway in the court of public opinion, which politicians could use to their advantage during an election cycle.
Disclosing any paid endorsements can help bring more transparency to the electoral process, giving celebrity enthusiasts and influencer audiences more information about why their idols might endorse a candidate.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Saturday morning, “Are the Democrats allowed to pay $11,000,000, $2,000,000, and $500,000 to get the ENDORSEMENT of Beyoncé, Oprah, and Reverend Al [Sharpton]?”
And he added: “I don’t think so! Beyoncé didn’t sing, Oprah didn’t do much (she called it ‘spend’) and Al is just a third-rate criminal. So what’s going on here? Totally against the law, and I heard that there are many more!!”
It is not illegal for political campaigns to pay for Array. A Federal Election Commission (FEC) spokesperson told fact-checking site Verify that “no provision of the FEC regulations on home addresses pays for federal candidates. “
However, federal candidates are legally obligated to disclose payments made in exchange for endorsements, according to the FEC spokesperson.
Winfrey, who attended the vice president’s final crusade in Philadelphia, denied allegations that she paid for his support.
“This is not true. I never got paid,” he told TMZ last month.
Campaigns may pay for expenses related to celebrity events. Winfrey’s production company Harpo Productions was paid by the Harris campaign for production costs for a September livestreaming event with the vice president and Winfrey, a Harpo spokesperson told Variety in November. However, the spokesperson said Winfrey was “at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
Beyoncé, who spoke at one of Harris’ crusade rallies in Houston, was also accused of receiving money from Harris, but several fact-checking sites have refuted that claim.
FactCheck. org said a Harris crusade official told them this claim is “not true. ” PolitiFact said it discovered “no evidence” for this claim and that Beyoncé’s publicist told them it was “beyond ridiculous. “
Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon reported in November that Harris had issued two $250,000 bills to the National Action Network, a nonprofit organization owned by the Rev. Al Sharpton, weeks before the MSNBC host conducted his interview with the vice president on Oct. 20. Sharpton held pro-Harris rallies for 3 days after the broadcast of his interview with the vice president.
An MSNBC spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon in a follow-up article last month that the network was “unaware” of those contributions.
Trump’s message is unlikely to have any legal impact on Harris, her 2024 campaign or the Democratic Party, but it could further influence the narrative within the president-elect’s base that Democrats are cheating in elections, a claim which Trump has done consistently. after his mandate. Defeat in the 2020 elections against current President Joe Biden. However, there is no evidence to recommend widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter in New York. Its objective is to inform about politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in October 2023. She graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta. You can contact Rachel by emailing r. dobkin@newsweek. com. Languages: English.