NO, BONO DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE 2024 ELECTION
Contrary to Trump’s rant, there’s no evidence the U2 singer — an Irish citizen — had any involvement in last year’s U.S. presidential election
By ANGIE MARTOCCIO
MAY 19, 2025
It happened during the time most rational things do: at 1:34 a.m., on the MAGA social media platform Truth Social.
President Donald Trump had another tantrum over Bruce Springsteen, writing a very chill, all-caps message: “HOW MUCH DID KAMALA HARRIS PAY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FOR HIS POOR PERFORMANCE DURING HER CAMPAIGN FOR PRESIDENT? WHY DID HE ACCEPT THAT MONEY IF HE IS SUCH A FAN OF HERS? ISN’T THAT A MAJOR AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION?”
Trump then took aim at even more celebrities, writing, “WHAT ABOUT BEYONCÉ? …AND HOW MUCH WENT TO OPRAH, AND BONO??? I am going to call for a major investigation into this matter. Candidates aren’t allowed to pay for ENDORSEMENTS, which is what Kamala did, under the guise of paying for entertainment.” He kept going for a while after that, then concluded: “Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!”
This is ludicrous for many reasons, including the fact that neither Beyoncé nor Oprah (nor Eminem, nor Megan Thee Stallion, nor Lizzo) were paid by Kamala Harris to support her in the 2024 election; those claims were debunked last year. Any money spent was to cover the costs of putting on events. The artists didn’t pocket a dime.
But Bono isn’t even an American citizen. He and his band U2 are famously from Ireland, and there’s no evidence the singer had any involvement in the 2024 election — or any presidential campaign in U.S. history. While Bono, like many people, has criticized Trump’s actions since taking office for a second time, that’s hardly a crime, and it has nothing to do with campaign finance.
So it’s unclear what, if anything, Trump could call for a major investigation into regarding U2. Maybe a deep dive into the new music they’re recording? As far as we know, though, making music is still legal here.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/musi ... 235342740/
