After a week spent praising and rubbing elbows with authoritarian leaders in the Middle East, President Donald Trump returned to the U.S. over the weekend — and promptly turned his attention to what he apparently believes are democracy’s real threats: Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé.
In a Truth Social post sent in the wee hours of Monday morning, Trump called for “a major investigation” into Springsteen and Beyoncé’s endorsements of former Vice President Kamala Harris during last year’s presidential race, along with those from Oprah Winfrey and Bono. “Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment,” he wrote, apparently referring to the event production fees that the Harris campaign paid to celebrities’ production companies, because campaigns are not allowed to accept in-kind donations.
“In addition, this was a very expensive and desperate effort to artificially build up her sparse crowds,” Trump, forever fixated on crowd size, wrote.
Trump’s tirade continued throughout the morning, as he repeated the unfounded rumor that Beyoncé was paid $11 million “to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG!”
It was the latest celebrity tongue-lashing by Trump, who also threw a Truth Social tantrum last week in response to Springsteen’s comments about this administration during his “Land of Hope & Dreams” tour. “In my home, they’re persecuting people for their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. That’s happening now,” Springsteen has said during his performances.
Proving Springsteen’s point better than he ever could, Trump retaliated with a barely veiled threat, writing on Truth Social that Springsteen “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare.’ Then we’ll all see how it goes for him.”
Another megacelebrity (and Harris backer) facing Trump’s ire this past week is Taylor Swift. As Trump’s Middle East trip wrapped up and Republicans in the House struggled to pass Trump’s “big beautiful” spending package, the president wondered aloud to his online audience, “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”
If you’re trying to find the method behind all this madness, don’t strain your brain. Trump is a master of misdirection, and with his approval ratings in the toilet, the American economy in a state of upheaval, discord within his own majority party, and scrutiny swirling around his acceptance of a $400 million plane from the Qataris, it seems like as good a time as ever to pick a fight with some of the biggest, most popular celebrities in the country.
Plus, Trump can’t ever help but take the bait. It’s a familiar pattern as much as it is a warning: Accuse him of using his power to stifle dissent, and he won’t hesitate for one moment to prove you right.
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