Harris Campaign Faces Scrutiny Over Lavish Spending and Oprah Event Costs
A new report has revealed that Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign paid significantly more for an Oprah Winfrey-hosted town hall event than initially disclosed.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, first highlighted by the Washington Examiner, show that Harris’s campaign made two $500,000 payments to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on October 15. However, sources cited by The New York Times claim the actual cost of the event was closer to $2.5 million.
The Harris campaign, which spent an astonishing $1.5 billion during its 15-week run—averaging $100 million per week—has reportedly left the Democratic Party with a $20 million debt. Donors have expressed frustration over an onslaught of fundraising requests aimed at addressing the financial shortfall.
Extravagant expenditures during the campaign included $9,000 on premium ice cream from brands like Sweet Lucy’s and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, nearly $15,000 on food delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, and $2.6 million on private jet travel over a two-week period in October.
In its final week, the campaign spent $900,000 reserving ad space on Las Vegas’s high-profile Sphere, despite Harris losing Nevada by three percentage points.
A significant portion of the campaign’s budget was allocated to celebrity endorsements, performances, and influencer partnerships designed to enhance public engagement. While Oprah Winfrey appeared at Harris’s final rally in Philadelphia, she denied receiving any personal payment for her involvement.
“Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo,” a spokesperson for Harpo Productions told Variety.
Speculation about celebrity payments intensified following Harris’s defeat to Donald Trump in last Tuesday’s presidential election. An account on X, formerly Twitter, claimed the campaign spent $20 million on celebrity endorsements, involving figures like Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Eminem.
Winfrey has consistently refuted such claims, telling TMZ, “Not true. I was paid nothing, ever.”
The campaign’s high-profile spending, including its reliance on celebrities and lavish promotional tactics, has sparked criticism as Democrats grapple with the financial aftermath of the costly bid.