Trump tries ‘most pathetic’ Epstein files distraction yet with bizarre list of people he wants prosecuted

US president Donald Trump may well be in another country right now (he’s in Scotland until Tuesday), but that hasn’t stopped the ongoing controversy over his administration’s handling of the Epstein files from following him across the Atlantic – prompting the Republican to try his “most pathetic” attempt yet at distracting people from the subject.

Away from golfing at his Turnberry course in South Ayrshire, the convicted felon took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning to declare that he is taking a look at the “large amount of money owed by the Democrats” following last year’s presidential election.

He continued: “[I’m looking at] the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for ‘expenses,’ to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV ‘anchor,’ Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING!

“These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO.

“Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them. All hell would break out!

“Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted!”

There’s no evidence that any of these people named by Trump were paid by the Democratic campaign for their endorsement – yep, it’s another baseless claim by the US president.

Beyoncé’s mum, Tina Knowles, took to Instagram in November to say it was a “lie” that her daughter was “paid 10 million dollars” to speak at a Houston rally in support of Kamala Harris.

She added: “When in fact: Beyoncé did not receive a penny for speaking at Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’s Rally in Houston. In fact she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam.”

In the same month, Winfrey said she was “paid nothing” for her hosting of a town hall in Michigan, while her production company Harpo Productions said its founder “was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo”.

Meanwhile, there were reports late last year that broadcaster Al Sharpton’s National Action Network received two payments of $250,000 from the Harris campaign prior to an MSNBC interview between her and Sharpton, which prompted the National Black Church Initiative to call for his suspension from the network.

The initiative later retracted such a call, with its president Rev Anthony Evans saying in a new statement that it was “unaware of the existing contract or agreement with Black organizations including Rev. Sharpton’s National Action Network to conduct non-partisan Get Out the Vote efforts ahead of the election”.

Evans added: “After further research, we have found no evidence that any candidate paid for support or endorsements, nor that NBC was engaged in any partisan political activities related to Vice President Harris’ appearance on PoliticsNation.

“Furthermore, we understand that Vice President Harris has made previous appearances on PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton over the years.”

So that’s that.

The rant from Trump has since been branded his “most pathetic” distraction from the Epstein files:

Another said Trump was “mad with power” and “out of control”:

Trump’s early morning tirade on Truth Social also included an attack on news networks, as he wrote that they “aren’t allowed to be political pawns for the Democrat Party”.

“It has become so outrageous that, in my opinion, their licenses could, and should, be revoked,” he said.

Why not read…

• Trump’s ‘windmill’ warning to Europe ridiculed by UK politician
• Trump shares meme of JD Vance and Obama - but there’s one problem

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.