Michael Abramson huffed in a Nov. 22 Newsmax column:
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) has rules that govern all types of campaign contributions and expenditures. It should add another rule for celebrity endorsements: Campaigns should be required to disclose that a celebrity is being paid, and that disclosure must occur at the event at which a celebrity appears.
The Kamala Harris for President Campaign had many celebrities take part in her campaign via Zoom calls, speeches, and performances at Harris’ speeches. Celebrities included Oprah Winfrey, Jon Bon Jovi, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, 2 Chainz, Lady Gaga, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Usher, Bruce Springsteen, Lizzo and Eminem.
It has been reported that the Harris Campaign paid significant amounts for celebrity events, such as $20 million spent on concerts in swing states on the eve of the election and $1 million to Harpo Productions, Oprah Winfrey’s production company. Oprah says that she was not paid.
The Harris Campaign was likely required to pay for the celebrities’ appearances if the celebrities were engaging in the acts that made them celebrities (such as Oprah interviewing Harris or Lady Gaga singing).
The FEC requires that in-kind donations (goods or services, rather than money) to a campaign are reported as contributions with a monetary amount set to their fair market value. The maximum allowable amount for in-kind donations is the same as monetary donations — that is $3,300 for the general election.
The fair market value of a celebrity singer (such as Lady Gaga) playing at an event probably exceeds this $3,300. If the celebrity played as an in-kind donation (i.e., without payment), it would be a violation of campaign finance law because it would exceed the $3,300 maximum amount.
The campaign, therefore, probably had to pay for these types of events per campaign finance law so that a violation of the maximum in-kind donation did not occur.
Abramson was curiously silent, however, about the numerous right-wing celebrities who voiced their support for Trump and made appearances at his rallies. Then again, a lot of them tend to be coasting on the back end of their fame (i.e., Victoria Jackson and Joe Exotic). Will he similarly demand that the Trump campaign do a full accounting of the value of their endorsements?
He then proposed a new rule:
The FEC should enact a rule stating that, if a celebrity is being paid for his/her appearance, the campaign must indicate, at the time of the celebrity’s performance, that the celebrity is receiving money for the appearance. This disclaimer would indicate to voters that the celebrity is receiving monetary compensation for appearing.
As such, the voter would then know that the celebrity may be appearing for monetary reasons rather than an affiliation to the candidate. Consequently, the rule would likely decrease the chances that a voter may infer the celebrity’s endorsement of a candidate because the celebrity performed at the candidate’s event.
Abramson didn’t indicate that this rule should apply to Republican candidates. Then again, he does seem a bit jealous that Harris attracted top-tier celebrities and Trump, well, didn’t.