President Trump has been trading slams with Bruce Springsteen over the last week, and Trump raised the ante on Monday. In a Truth Social post, Trump called for a "major investigation" of Springsteen and other celebs such as Oprah Winfrey, Bono, and Beyonce who backed Kamala Harris in the election. "Candidates aren't allowed to pay for endorsements, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment," he wrote, using all-caps in places.
Axios notes that Trump also deployed celebs, including Kid Rock, at various campaign events, and it points out that Harris-backing celebrities have previously rejected allegations they were improperly paid. Winfrey's Harpo company, for example, received more than $900,000 to stage a town hall, but Deadline previously reported that federal election law requires campaigns to pay the fair market value for staging such productions. Winfrey herself said she personally "was not paid a dime" in a social media video. "However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story."
Similarly, Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles, said her daughter "did not receive a penny" to speak at a Houston rally for Harris. The Democrat's campaign paid Beyonce's production company $165,000, USA Today previously reported. Meanwhile, Springsteen didn't let up on Trump while performing in the UK over the weekend, notes the Los Angeles Times. "Things are happening right now that are altering the very nature of our country's democracy, and they're too important to ignore," he said, echoing earlier remarks. The newspaper notes that Trump seemed to issue a vague threat to Springsteen last week, writing, "We'll see how it goes for him" when he returns to the US. Monday's post might clarify that. (More Bruce Springsteen stories.)
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