In recent weeks, there’s been significant chatter that Donald Trump may have soured on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), after the president-elect and his allies thwarted Johnson’s original short-term funding bill to keep the government open.
On Monday, Trump appeared to put that rumor to bed, in a lengthy, rambling Truth Social post mostly concerned with other topics. First, Trump touted his “landslide” presidential victory in “ALL SEVEN SWING STATES,” before accusing his opponent Kamala Harris of “illegally” buying endorsements from Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Next, he claimed Democrats weaponized the Justice Department and FBI against him. Finally, Trump offered Johnson his “Complete & Total Endorsement.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” the president-elect wrote. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”
In his post backing Johnson, Trump claimed that Vice President Harris’ campaign paid $11 million to Beyoncé, $2 million to Oprah, and $500,000 to Sharpton. Trump made the same claims over the weekend, writing: “Are the Democrats allowed to pay $11,000,000, $2,000,000, and $500,000 to get the ENDORSEMENT of Beyoncé, Oprah, and Reverend Al?” He added, “Totally against the law, and I have heard there are many others!!!”
For the most part, these claims are false.
The claim about Beyoncé appears to stem from a post made by right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who said the star singer was paid $10 million by the Harris campaign. Instagram took down that post, and Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles disputed the rumor last month, calling it “False Information” while saying that “Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris’s Rally in Houston.”
Harris’ campaign similarly reported paying $1 million to Oprah’s production company, Harpo Productions — specifically to stage and staff their live-streamed town hall together in Detroit. “I did not take any personal fee,” Oprah wrote on Instagram. “However the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
