Months have passed since Beyoncé and other celebrities endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president. But now, in a late night, President Donald Trump revealed major plans for revenge aimed at some major celebrities. And as expected, many people— especially Black folks— are giving side eyes.
Last year’s campaign cycle was one for the books. From assassination attempts to Harris bringing Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland to her Texas rally, the country is still reeling from 2024... and so is Trump. In fact, the president took to Truth Social around 1:30a.m. on Monday (May. 19) to get some things off his chest.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT,” he asked. “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???”
So now, he’s calling for a formal investigation into Harris’ campaign endorsements. Trump continued, “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.”
But while Trump was busy calling Harris’ actions “illegal,” other folks took to social media to remind the president of his own track record. On X, @ArtCandee asked, “Should we be asking how much he paid for his D-list ‘entertainment’ like Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood?”
Harris wasn’t the only candidate with celebrity endorsements. Who can forget when Kodak Black and Fivio Foreign endorsed Trump with their song, “ONBOA47RD?” Or when Soulja Boy, Nelly and Snoop Dogg were paid to perform at the Trump-sponsored Crypto Ball in January. “Obama ain’t never put no money in my f*****g pocket... Kamala ain’t never put no money in my f*****g pocket,” Soulja told his followers in January.
Trump continued on Truth Social, “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.”
@TheGeekRevolt tweeted in confusion, “Didn’t Elon literally pay for votes?” referring to when the Tesla CEO handed out literal $1 million checks to voters in Wisconsin back in March, according to AP News. Another user brought up when Musk launched a million dollar sweepstakes in November on Trump’s behalf. “Didn’t el*n pay people from pennsylvania $1 million to vote for trump?? which he later thanked him for after inauguration,” @Heytommo31 tweeted.
Other folks online called Trump “a sore WINNER.” @YallQunt said, “like who gives a s**t….b***h fix healthcare, minimum wage, the housing crisis, and the many REAL problems American citizens CARE ABOUT.”
Many warned Trump really doesn’t want the smoke with Queen Bey and the beyhive. “The BeyHive is not going to be happy!!!! That’s a fight I think trump won’t win,” @DjOmegaMVP said.
In the middle of what seems like Trump chaos, @ChidiNwatu asked folks what’s the real reason behind Trump’s frustrations. “Anyone know what he’s trying to distract us from this week?”
@JessicaTarlov tweeted “Donald Trump spent the night ranting about investigating Beyonce so that you would forget that House Republicans just moved a bill forward that would cut Medicaid.”