As Donald Trump prepared for an important meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, it stood to reason that the American president might spend the morning meeting with aides, reviewing his notes and strategy, and making sure he was fully prepared for a round of delicate diplomacy.
But shortly before the Republican’s sensitive discussion with his counterpart in Moscow got underway, he decided to let the world know what else was on his mind. HuffPost reported:
President Donald Trump on Monday launched a new attack on rock legend Bruce Springsteen along with several other major celebrities during a middle-of-the-night rant on his Truth Social website. … He also attacked Beyonce, Oprah Winfrey and Bono, claiming without evidence they were all paid to endorse Harris during last year’s presidential election.
The first sign of trouble came last week, while Trump was still in the midst of a Middle East trip, when the president set aside some time to whine about Springsteen while simultaneously suggesting that Taylor Swift is no longer “hot,” thanks entirely to his criticisms of the pop star.
Evidently, however, these were not his final words on the subject.
“HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT?” Trump wrote online, in a message published at 1:34 a.m. local time. “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???”
As part of the same weird rant, the president — again, ahead of his Putin meeting — went on to write, “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.”
Nearly eight hours later, when he probably should’ve been preparing for his meeting related to the war in Ukraine, the American president returned to the subject. “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!” he wrote.
“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!!!”
To the extent that reality still has any meaning in situations like this, let’s just briefly note that there’s literally no evidence of Harris or her campaign paying anyone for endorsements; there was nothing “unlawful” or “corrupt” about the support the then-Democratic nominee received from celebrities during the 2024 campaign; Beyoncé did not face “loud booing” after she endorsed Harris; and there’s nothing “illegal” about public figures publicly backing a presidential candidate. It’s also probably worth mentioning in passing that Trump’s hysterical online communications don’t do any favors to his “very stable genius” description of himself. But of particular interest was the president’s interest in “a major investigation into this matter.” All things considered, there’s no reason to get too worked up about every Trump tantrum, his rage toward celebrities who’ve dared to criticize him, his weird approach to pop culture, or his use of the word “illegal” as a synonym for “stuff I don’t like.” What I do care about, however, is the president’s willingness to use the power of the state to pursue critics in authoritarian-style fashion. This is especially true now with the Justice Department led by an attorney general who apparently sees herself as an extension of the White House and its political agenda — which raises the prospect of a federal investigator actually initiating a probe into celebrities that Trump doesn’t like.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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