Bono, the frontman of Irish rock group U2, was named by US President Donald Trump in a social media rant about what he claims were "illegal campaign contributions" this morning, Monday, May 19.
The President said Bono, as well as Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, and "perhaps many others," should be investigated for what he claims were "illegal campaign contributions" to Kamala Harris's failed presidential bid last year.
However, as Billboard noted on Monday, Bono did not formally endorse a candidate in the 2024 US Presidential election or participate in any campaign events during the election.
Bono was, however, a guest of honor for Biden's State of the Union address in February 2023. And in January, after Trump won the 2024 election, the Irish rocker received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Biden, less than three weeks before the President exited the White House.
While he did not formally endorse anyone in 2024, Bono has previously made his criticism of Trump known. In 2016, about a month before Trump was ultimately elected over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Bono accused the Republican candidate of 'running off with the American dream.'
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform at 1:34 this morning: "HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION? WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment. In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds. IT’S NOT LEGAL! For these unpatriotic “entertainers,” this was just a CORRUPT & UNLAWFUL way to capitalize on a broken system. Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!"
In a follow-up post at 9:11 am on Monday, Trump wrote: "According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG! Remember, the Democrats and Kamala illegally paid her millions of Dollars for doing nothing other than giving Kamala a full throated ENDORSEMENT. THIS IS AN ILLEGAL ELECTION SCAM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL! IT IS AN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION! BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, OPRAH, BONO AND, PERHAPS, MANY OTHERS, HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!"
Trump did not cite what "news reports" he was referring to regarding Beyoncé's alleged $11 million payout.
FactCheck.org reported in November, after the election, that it had found no evidence that the Harris campaign paid for celebrity endorsements
FEC filings do show that the Harris campaign paid Winfrey's Harpo Productions Inc $1 million in two payments on October 15, and Beyoncé's Parkwood Production Media $165k on November 19.
Winfrey later clarified: "For the live streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and the chairs we sat on) to put on a live production.
"I did not take any personal fee.
"However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles similarly hit out at claims that her daughter was paid for endorsing Harris.
"The lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris," Knowles wrote on Instagram on November 16.
"When In Fact : Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris's Rally in Houston.
"In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam."
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