President-elect Donald Trump accused Democrats of breaking the law based on reports that Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign paid for the endorsement of celebrities like singer Beyoncé and media personality Oprah Winfrey.
Newsweek contacted Harris’s 2024 campaign and email from the National Democratic Committee (DNC) to comment on Saturday afternoon.
The mentions of the celebrities can stimulate a political crusade by achieving demographic knowledge that they would possibly have trouble achieving it. Influentic celebrities and people have a lot of control in the Public Opinion Court, which politicians can also use for merits in an electoral cycle.
Disclosing any paid-for endorsements can help bring more transparency into the election process, giving fans of celebrities and influencer audiences more insight into why their idols may choose to endorse a candidate.
Trump posted Saturday morning on his social facts platform, “Are Democrats allowed to pay $11,000,000, $2,000,000 and $500,000 to get approval from Beyoncé, Oprah and Rev. Al [Sharpton]?”
And he added: “I don’t think so! Beyoncé did not sing, Oprah did not do much (he called it ‘expenses’) and he is just a third category scammer. So what is happening here ???? totally opposed to The law and I have heard that there are many more !!
It’s not illegal for political campaigns to pay for Array. A spokesperson for the Federal Election Commission (FEC) told fact-checking site Verify that “no provision in the FEC regulations on particular addresses pays for federal candidates. “
However, federal applicants are legally required to disclose invoices made in exchange for endorsements, according to the FEC spokesperson.
Winfrey, who participated in the last assembly of the vice president’s crusade in Philadelphia, denied allegations that she paid for his support.
“Not true. I was paid nothing, ever,” she told TMZ last month.
Campaigns can cover expenses similar to those of celebrity events. Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions, received payments through Harris’ campaign for production prices for a live event in September with the vice president and Winfrey, a Harpo spokesperson said in November. However, the spokesperson said Winfrey “at no point during the campaign did she receive a private payment, nor did she receive a payment from Harpo. “
Beyoncé, who spoke at one of Harris’ campaign rallies in Houston, was also accused of being paid to endorse Harris, but multiple fact-checking sites debunked the claim.
Factcheck. org said a Harris campaign manager told them the allegation is “not true. “Politifact said it had uncovered “no evidence” for the complaint and that Beyoncé’s publicist told them it was “beyond ridiculous. “
Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon reported in November that the Harris campaign donated two payments of $250,000 to Reverend Al Sharpton’s nonprofit National Action Network, weeks before the MSNBC host conducted his interview with the vice president on October 20. Sharpton held rallies for Harris three days after his interview with the vice president aired.
An MSNBC spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon in a subsequent article last month that the network was “not aware” of those contributions.
Trump’s message is unlikely to have a legal effect on Harris, her 2024 crusade, or the Democratic Party, however, it may further influence the narrative within the president-elect’s base that Democrats are cheating on the election, a claim Trump has made continuously following his tenure in office. Defeat in the 2020 election opposite existing President Joe Biden. However, there is no evidence to recommend widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. It is to inform about politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in October 2023. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oneonta. You can reach Rachel by emailing r. dobkin@newsweek. com. Languages: English.