Kamala Harris paid Oprah Winfrey $1million during her failed presidential bid as part of her $1bn campaign spending spree
Kamala Harris paid Oprah Winfrey $1 million during her failed presidential bid as part of her exorbitant campaign spending.
Winfrey’s Harpo Productions received $1 million from the Harris campaign on October 15 after Winfrey hosted a star-studded town hall event in September for the vice president, the Washington Examiner reports.
Winfrey also attended the Democrat’s final campaign rally in Philadelphia the night before Election Day, where she voiced her support for Harris.
But the legendary talk show host 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.
In total, the Harris campaign has spent $1.2 billion on the race, while Trump’s campaign has spent $750 million. Analysis from the Financial Times found.
According to a report from The Washington Examiner, her campaign spent six figures building out the podcast’s set for her small gig
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.
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.
Although the FT analysis shows that the Harris campaign spent $1.2 billion on the race, some believe the race was even more expensive.
The Harris campaign, its affiliated PACs and the Democratic National Committee collected more than $2.3 billion in political contributions.
Donald Trump’s team, affiliated PACs and the Republican National Committee have raised $1.8 billion.
After raising nearly $4.2 billion, they spent a combined $3.5 billion on the presidential race, making it the most expensive race ever, according to the analysis.
Despite spending less, Trump ultimately defeated Harris in the election and in the popular vote — something the Republican Party hasn’t done in decades.
The Examiner had explored ways in which the Harris campaign had managed to break the eye-watering figure, including the appearance of the podcast.
According to the outlet, her campaign and its partners spent more than $654 million from July to Election Day. Trump spent $378 million, 57 percent less than she did.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris joins U.S. television producer Oprah Winfrey during a ‘Unite for America’ livestream rally in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on September 19, 2024
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.
The vice president had spoken to raunchy show host Alexandra Cooper, seen here, in October while he was on the campaign trail
Katy Perry performs during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at Carrie Blast Furnaces in Pittsburgh, November 4, 2024
One vendor, Village Marketing Agency, received more than $3.9 million to recruit social media influencers to broaden Harris’ online appeal.
The event production, like the podcast appearance, was a major expense for the campaign, which hosted the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry on the eve of the election.
The campaign paid more than $15 million to companies for such services, according to federal documents.
A better idea of their actual spending will become clear when the Federal Election Commission requires full reports from candidates within 30 days.
While Democrats are still trying to rally after their loss to Trump earlier this week, Biden and Harris’ teams are blaming each other for wasting their money.
White House and campaign workers continue to relentlessly cast blame over whether the president or vice president really dropped the ball.
Not only did their campaign end in disaster, but to make matters worse, the operation is reportedly $20 million in debt, Politico reports.
Biden aides say the vice president ran a terrible three-month campaign and squandered millions of dollars from his top donors.
“How did you spend $1 billion without winning? What the hell?’ said a former Biden staffer who was outraged by the Harris team’s apology.
MailOnline has contacted the Harris campaign for comment.