Donald Trump wasn’t happy to hear that Bruce Springsteen hasn’t backed down from calling him an “unfit president” as he performs in Europe, so he went on another rant on social media overnight Sunday, demanding a “major” investigation be launched against the rock ‘n’ roll legend for singing at a Kamala Harris rally in October.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” the leader of the free world wrote in his aggrieved, all-caps way on his Truth Social platform. “WHY ACCEPT THE MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN”T THAT A MAJOR ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?”
Trump said he wanted the “major investigation into the matter” to extend to other “unpatriotic ‘entertainers,’” such as Beyonce or Oprah Winfrey, whom he accused of being paid for their endorsements, which he said came in the form of singing or speaking at Harris rallies.
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As it happens, this “matter” was already addressed by Democrats and the media soon after the Nov. 5 election.
Adrienne Elrod, who served as a senior adviser and senior spokesperson for the Harris campaign, told Deadline in November that the campaign did not pay for celebrity support. “We have never paid any artist and performer,” she said.
But that statement isn’t likely to satisfy Trump, who clearly has been triggered by Springsteen speaking out against him during his recent performances in Manchester, England, for his “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour.
Performing with the E Street Band on Wednesday and Saturday nights, the “Born in the USA” singer has taken some time out of his concerts to deliver a series of rousing, blistering speeches aimed at the president. Last Wednesday, Springsteen introduced the song that gives the tour its name and said: “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.”
At both performances, Springsteen also noted the current administration is “persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent.”
Trump initially responded to Springsteen’s criticism on Friday, and he especially took issue with the singer for speaking out while abroad. Besides calling Springsteen a “no-talent hack” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” the president also said he should “KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the country.”
It certainly sounded as though the commander in chief was threatening the New Jersey-born recording artist with some kind of consequence, perhaps using an agency like the Department of Homeland Security to complicate his ability to return to the United States at the end of his tour in early July.
Now, Trump is clearly trying to make an issue of Springsteen performing at a Harris-Walz rally in Philadelphia on Oct. 28 by zeroing in on the campaign’s use of A-list stars at her events. Beyoncé spoke at a Houston rally on Oct. 25, while others who performed included Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera and James Taylor.
But as the Daily Beast pointed out Monday, Democrats already raised concerns about the Harris campaign spending $1.5 billion in 15 weeks and yet losing every single battleground state. Harris also was the first Democratic presidential candidate to lose the national popular vote in two decades.
In the weeks after the election, the New York Times reported, the Harris’ campaign spared no expense as it hunted for voters, including by paying for pricey rallies, celebrity concerts and “a splashy Oprah Winfrey town hall.”
That Winfrey event drew particular attention after it was reported that $1 million was paid to the media mogul’s production firm, Harpo Productions, the New York Times said. In an Instagram post, Winfrey said the company was paid to stage a live-streamed town hall in Detroit, providing the set, lights, cameras, microphones, crew, producers and even the chairs.
“I did not take any personal fee,” Winfrey wrote. “However the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
That was the situation with other star performers appearing at Harris rallies — the singers themselves were not compensated but their support staff was, according to the New York Times. Deadline also reported that Federal Election Commission rules require campaigns to pay the fair market value for the ancillary costs of holding events — everything from staging to the band to food and drink. Production companies have to charge campaigns because they are not allowed to give cash or in-kind donations to candidates.
Along those lines, Harris’ campaign paid Springsteen’s production company, Thrill Hill Productions, about $75,000 on Nov. 19 for “travel and event production,” the Daily Beast reported, citing FEC filings.
Springsteen has been a vocal critic of both Trump administrations, while long supporting Democratic causes and candidates.
On Truth Social, Trump also zeroed in on Springsteen’s support for Biden. He said that Springsteen, a “pushy, obnoxious jerk,” was too “dumb” to see that Biden was “a mentally incompetent FOOL” and “our WORST EVER president ever who came close to destroying our country.”