"She had to pay them? That just makes it so much worse"— Netizens react to Kamala campaign allegedly paying Oprah $1 million for their interview
TV producer Oprah Winfrey reportedly charged $1 million to campaign for Kamala Harris and to host an interview in September during the presidential race. This refers to Harris’ September 19 interview with Winfrey at the Unite for America demonstration in Michigan.
According to the November 9 news show on Fox News, which cited a November 8 report from The Washington Examiner, Winfrey's Harpo Productions received $1 million out of the $15 million that Harris' campaign reportedly spent on "event production.”
The clip was uploaded on X by @DefiyantlyFree, with the caption:
“The Harris campaign paid Oprah $1 million to do that interview, and she spent $100,000 building the set of the Call Her Daddy podcast so Kamala Harris wouldn’t have to fly out to LA to film it.”
Once the news went public, netizens took to the X user’s post to comment. One alleged that it's “so much worse,” suggesting they would have done her campaign for free if they truly supported her. An X user tweeted:
“She had to pay them? That just makes it so much worse. If they really believed in her, they would have done it for free.”
Netizens criticized Harris for the alleged action and claimed that she paid for all her “endorsements.” One even said that the “paid endorsements should be” notified.
“So every single endorsement or campaigning was paid for …. Not because they are all necessarily believers of Kamala,” one user said.
“Paid endorsements should be noted and pointed out to the public just as in any commercial. To do otherwise is misleading and unethical…,”one X user commented.
“NO WAY!!!! She had to pay Oprah $1 Million dollars??? If Oprah cared about 'women's rights’.... she would have been happy to do it for free,” wrote another X user.
Many condemned Harris for the reported move, while others seemingly supported Trump.
“I’ve lost all respect for @Oprah.. I bet Trump didn’t pay @DrPhil that kind of money,” alleged one user.
“Meanwhile, Trump traveled anywhere. Everywhere. Kamala spent campaign money like the federal government spends money,” alleged another X user.
“Did Trump's campaign pay anybody? Isn’t that counterproductive?” asked another X user.
Kamala Harris' campaign is allegedly in debt
Christopher Cadelago, head of Politico's California office, claimed on X on November 7 that Kamala Harris' campaign is allegedly in debt by at least $20 million following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
As reported by the Washington Examiner, Harris' team allegedly spent another six figures to create a decoy set for the Call Her Daddy podcast so she could conduct an interview. Since its October release, the interview has received over 800,000 views on YouTube.
However, as soon as the news went viral, Republican strategist Brad Todd commented in an interview with The Washington Examiner on November 8:
“Money can’t buy you love or a good candidate. Advertising is a pretty important source of information for swing voters... It no doubt matters, but it’s not enough. It doesn’t matter if you have the wrong message and it’s not delivered in a compelling way..."
He further added:
"What her campaign was missing was any effort to break with the unpopular administration she has been a part of.”
Additionally, details on how the Harris campaign allegedly used their $1 billion fund were also published in the Washington Examiner on November 8.
Meanwhile, following the backlash, Kamala Harris didn't say anything as of yet.
