Kamala Harris has been branded for crowing about how her presidential campaign raised more than $1.4 billion through grassroots fundraising after spending it on celebrity appearances and an ad about the Las Vegas atmosphere.
The vice president boasted in a video message to her supporters that her campaign received “a historic $1.4 billion, almost $1.5 billion” from grassroots supporters, which Harris said was “the most in the history of the presidential campaign.” .
“Nearly eight million donors contributed to our people-powered campaign with an average donation of approximately $56,” she added.
But she has been criticized for the way her campaign raised $1 billion – with fingers pointed at the celebrity-filled concert rallies in swing states that took place in the final days of the campaign, as well as expensive advertising campaigns.
Top Democratic megadonor John Morgana wealthy trial lawyer, furious about the spending spree during a performance on Chris Cuomo’s show ‘CUOMO’ on NewsNation.
“Suddenly everyone has the keys to the candy store, ad buyers, talent consultants. There are still 100 days to do it, and the money started pouring in,” he said.
He lamented some of the wasteful spending decisions, such as lighting the Las Vegas “Sphere” at a cost of $900,000, plus the purchase of ads in his home state of Florida and wall-to-wall ads in the failed attempt to return Donald Trump to prevent. to the White House.
He suggested bad motives for some of the costs. “She had all these advisors. And if you don’t show the ads, you won’t get paid for the purchase. Nine hundred thousand to put her face on in Las Vegas! The ego, the crazies, the committees,” he complained.
The vice president boasted in a video message to her supporters that her campaign received “a historic $1.4 billion, almost $1.5 billion” from grassroots supporters, which Harris said was “the most in the history of the presidential campaign.” .
VP Harris’ campaign paid about $1 million to Oprah Winfrey’s production company, in an effort to use celebrity support to propel her
Morgan ripped the campaign for paying to put Harris’ face on the Las Vegas Sphere, in a striking ad in battleground Nevada
Other campaign spending that is raising eyebrows includes $4 million on private jets, $1 million to Oprah Winfrey’s production company Harpo studios, $5,000 to a California nail artist, and more. She also spent $654 million on advertising, according to AdImpact.
Legendary talk show host Winfrey isn’t the only entertainer who received money from the vice president in hopes of helping her presidential campaign.
Harris reportedly spent six figures building out the set for her October appearance on the popular podcast ‘Call Her Daddy’, where she sat down with the show’s host Alex Cooper.
While Harris avoided the show’s typically sexual content, she spoke about her views on abortion rights and student debt during the seven-minute event.
According to a report from The Washington Examinerher campaign had spent six figures building out the podcast’s set for her small gig.
The outlet also reported that it was filmed in a Washington DC hotel room, with crews building the set to imitate Cooper’s actual set in Los Angeles.
The Harris campaign also paid half a million dollars to a nonprofit founded by longtime anchor Rev. Al Sharpton just before he interviewed her, reportedly blindsiding cable news network MSNBC.
The donations that poured in just before the New York activist’s conversation with Harris have raised questions about the news outlet’s credibility.
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rev. Al Sharpton leave after lunch at Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem, February 21, 2019 in New York City. According to Sharpton’s civil rights organization National Action Network, the two discussed criminal justice reform and other critical issues
According to a report from The Washington Examiner, Harris’ campaign had spent six figures building out the podcast’s set for her small appearance.
Katy Perry performs during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Pittsburgh, November 4, 2024
The National Action Network, a civil rights nonprofit founded by Sharpton in 1991, received $500,000 from the Harris campaign just weeks before the MSNBC host held a highly anticipated meeting with the Democrat.
Campaign finance records from the 60-year-old’s campaign show two separate payments went to the National Action Network. One payment for $250,000 was sent to the nonprofit on September 5 and another for the same amount on October 1.
The softball interview with Sharpton took place on October 20, just weeks after the second payment.
MSNBC is widely known as a liberal-leaning channel, and the fact that one of its top talents took in a huge amount of money just before a follow-up interview has sparked backlash from journalists who say the channel has now been given a “black eye.”
During the rosy interview, the MSNBC host effusively praised Harris’ “extraordinary historic campaign” while simultaneously labeling Donald Trump as “hostile and erratic.”
The spending spree was all part of a campaign that relied on large rallies, frequent trips to swing states, and no small amount of celebrity and endorsements from top musicians and actors.
Now, in the wake of her defeat, her campaign continues to send out a series of appeals to raise money to try to pay off a campaign debt reportedly as high as $20 million.
Harris told her supporters in her video that her “fight for freedom and opportunity” included “nearly four million first-time contributors to our campaign.”
The event production, like the podcast appearance, was a major expense for the campaign, which hosted the likes of Lady Gaga (pictured at Harris’s Philadelphia rally) and Katy Perry on the eve of the election.
Vice President Kamala Harris is photographed delivering her concession speech on Wednesday, November 6, on the campus of her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
“I just need to remind you: never let anyone take your power from you. You have the same power as you did before November 5,” Harris said in the video message on X, referring to the date of the presidential election she lost to newly elected President Donald Trump.
Over the past three weeks, Trump has kicked off his transition by appointing a slew of Cabinet officials.
Harris, meanwhile, had headed to Hawaii for a post-election vacation and arrived in the Bay Area on Monday to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with family.
She was dressed in work clothes for the video in what appeared to be a living room and looked teary-eyed as she delivered the 28-second message.
“And you have the same goal as you. And you have the same ability to engage and inspire,” she continued. “So never let anyone or any circumstance take your power from you.”
Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, spent six days at a $1,300-a-night vacation rental on the Big Island of Hawaii, rarely going out in public, DailyMail.com reported Monday.
The house was a 5,000-square-foot, five-bedroom property owned by a scion of the Mondavi wine family.
And according to the online listing, the rental price included “three free bottles of Mondavi family wine with every reservation.”