Al Sharpton hits back at Trump accusation about paid endorsement of Kamala Harris
"Morning Joe" host Jonathon Lemire asked Sharpton to respond to Trump's claim that he was paid to endorse Harris.
"Well, absolutely not. And as the FEC filings say, they helped – the campaign gave funds for get-out-the-vote campaigns for National Action Network, of which I'm a part of, and other civil rights groups, some of which got more than National Action Network did. National Action Network, nor I, even endorsed her," Sharpton said.
"What is interesting about this, though, is that, the fact that this is the, as you accurately reported, second or third time, lawyers for National Action Network's looking at can we sue him for defamation because he had knowledge this time that there was no endorsement and that I didn't get any money. This went to the nonprofit that I'm connected to," he continued.
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Sharpton went on to argue that Trump had "serious problems" related to Jeffrey Epstein and the Trump administration's announcement that there was no client list.
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"So last week he was trying to flood the zone to take any pressure off of him and try to put his MAGA base back together again. The fact is, he started by saying he's going to fire the Fed chief. That didn't work. Then he went on to something about tariffs that didn't work. Then he decided to do what he started his political career on start race baiting, which was he started with birtherism, that Obama wasn't born here," Sharpton said.
The liberal MSNBC host argued that Trump also directed an attack at former President Obama, who Trump said was the "ringleader" of Russiagate, in an effort to "get past Epstein."
"Then over the weekend, Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Al Sharpton, the race card, or the thread here is race and that's what he's trying to do. They're swapping money. They're doing things like Obama was holding back with Russia. It's all about trying to get past Epstein," Sharpton argued.
"We have shown in National Action Network and other groups, what we did and didn't do in the campaign. Even when I spoke at the convention, I said, we don't endorse candidates. We have come with our files. Release the Epstein files, Mr. Trump. Do what we did or be quiet," he continued.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
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Sharpton spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, criticizing the president's record on race.
Trump alleged in a post on Truth Social that Sharpton, along with Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé, were paid to endorse the former vice president in the 2024 election.
"I'm looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and 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," Trump posted on Saturday.
FEC filings show the Harris campaign made two $500,000 payments to Oprah Winfrey's production company, which was first reported by the Washington Examiner after the election, on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey appeared with Harris at a town hall event and weeks before Oprah was on stage with Harris at a Philadelphia rally before election day.
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Sharpton, a big critic of Trump and open supporter of the Democratic Party, conducted an interview with the former vice president ahead of the election in late October. Following Harris' loss to Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton's nonprofit organization in September and October.
Sharpton did not inform viewers of the contributions or the conflict of interest before or after the interview.
Sharpton's interview with Harris fell on the former vice president's 60th birthday, as the MSNBC host asked, "What do you want, 50 years from now, history to say about Kamala Harris?"
"I hope that, and I really do hope that... my life will have proven to have been a life that is about fighting for the people. Fighting for the dignity of people," Harris said.
"Some little girl or little boy is gonna be talking about you like you talked about Ms. Shirley Chisholm," Sharpton commented, comparing Harris to the first Black woman elected to Congress who also made a presidential run in 1972.
Fox News' Brian Flood and Michael Lee contributed to this report.Original article source: Al Sharpton hits back at Trump accusation about paid endorsement of Kamala Harris
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