Trump calls for prosecution of Kamala Harris, Beyonce, Oprah, Al Sharpton over alleged paid endorsements

President Donald Trump on Saturday called for the prosecution of former Vice President Kamala Harris and several high-profile celebrities, including Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey, and Al Sharpton, over what he characterized as “illegal” payments for political endorsements.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the Harris campaign of paying millions of dollars to celebrities for appearances that amounted to paid endorsements, which he argued violates campaign finance laws.

“I’m looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyonce for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for ‘expenses,’ to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV ‘anchor,’ Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING!” Trump wrote. “These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO. Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them. All hell would break out! Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted!”

Oprah Winfrey previously stated she was “not paid a dime” to appear at a livestream event in support of Harris, though the campaign reportedly covered $1 million worth of production fees. 

“I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid and were. End of story,” Winfrey said back in May. 

The Harris campaign also denied paying Beyonce for an endorsement, though records show Beyonce’s production company received $165,000 for a Houston rally in October during Harris’s presidential run. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network received $500,000 during the campaign. According to the New York Post, these figures are different than the ones cited by Trump, and it is unclear where his numbers originated.