Trump broke the internet with a federal inquiry into Beyoncé, alleging that she had been paid $11 million to campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris. The former president tossed these accusations without providing evidence, but that didn’t stop him from launching a finger-poke, all-caps tirade on his social platform.
“HOW MUCH DID CROOKED ‘PHONEY’ KAMALA PAY BEYONCÉ AND SPRINGSTEEN, AND OPRAH, AND BONO, TO GET ALL TO SHOW UP?” he posted, launching a rhetorical grenade that quickly set off an internet firestorm.
In his rant, Trump had accused Harris of making “illegal campaign contributions” by reportedly using payments to Hollywood backers as “entertainment fees.” He said this was part of a “corrupt & unlawful” effort to exaggerate crowd sizes and “artificially build up” Harris’ appeal on the campaign trail.
Trump managed to drag Bruce Springsteen, whom he mocked as a “dried up prune of a rocker,” and Oprah and Bono into it, asking if they were paid to turn out and cheer Harris on. The shot at Springsteen seemed to hit home; the rock legend had not long before called Trump “corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous’’ from the concert stage.
“Trump is leaving his first term in complete disaster,” one fan clapped back online. So many other good choices, but not ‘anybody’ is better than @staceyabrams,” he wrote. “Historic levels of American Death, Debt, and Dependency, but somehow you want to trust the proven loser to be extraordinary”? He’s a lot more interested in examining Beyoncé and Springsteen.”
Another wrote, with a similar sentiment: “Donald Trump wants you talking about investigating Beyoncé so he can cut health care for 13.7 million Americans. Don’t allow him to cover for him.”
The energy online blended disbelief and derision as fans ridiculed what any reasonable person would infer. This is the apparent ridiculousness of the notion that Queen Bey needs to be “paid off” to get behind a political campaign. “I have cackled so hard bcos he really & completely hasn’t realized the power that woman has,” one wrote. “Before he’s done, he’ll be on crutches.”
Neither Beyoncé nor Kamala Harris has responded publicly to the allegations as of press time, and no evidence has been presented to substantiate any of Trump’s claims.
But if Trump assumed he could send some shade Beyoncé’s way without backlash, the internet has a reminder: don’t mess with the Beyhive unless you’re willing to get stung.
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