President Donald Trump railed against former Vice President Kamala Harris in a social media post on Saturday, claiming that she paid for several of her big-name endorsements — namely singer Beyoncé and longtime television host Oprah Winfrey — in her failed bid to win the presidency in 2024.
In a post originally shared via his Truth Social platform, the president argued that paying for political endorsements was illegal and said that all of those involved — whether they were paying or taking payments for those endorsements — should be investigated and prosecuted.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 26, 2025
“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 Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!),” Trump began.
He want on to add that they also reportedly paid “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!”
“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,” Trump continued. “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! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
While it is documented that a number of celebrities — including Winfrey and Beyoncé — received payments through their production companies, ostensibly for operating costs, they have denied being paid simply to appear.
“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 in May.
Tina Knowles, Beyoncé’s mother, said it was a “lie” that her daughter was paid to appear on behalf of the Harris campaign.
