MSNBC admitted it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign paid $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview with the Democratic nominee ahead of Election Day.
Harris sat down for a friendly interview on Oct. 20 with MSNBC’s Sharpton, an open supporter of Harris and the Democratic Party. Following Harris’ loss to President-elect Trump, FEC filings revealed the Harris campaign gave two $250,000 donations to Sharpton’s nonprofit organization in September and October – but the MSNBC host did not inform viewers of the contributions or the conflict of interest before or after the interview.
“MSNBC was unaware of the donations made to the National Action Network,” an MSNBC spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon, which first broke the story.
KAMALA HARRIS INTERVIEWERS RECEIVED LARGE CAMPAIGN DONATIONS TO THEIR GROUPS AHEAD OF SIT-DOWNS
The Free Beacon added that Sharpton did not inform “network brass” that his nonprofit received money from the Harris campaign. MSNBC declined to say if Sharpton would face consequences, according to the report.
MSNBC did not respond to multiple requests for additional comment from Fox News Digital. Sharpton appeared in MSNBC as recently as Monday on “Morning Joe.”
Harris sat down for the friendly interview last month on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation,” which happened to fall on the same day as her 60th birthday.
“Today is your birthday, and we all reflect on our birthdays, what our life would mean. You called me on my birthday. Thanks again. What do you want, 50 years from now, history to say about Kamala Harris?” Sharpton asked.
“I hope that, and I really do work 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.
OPRAH TOWN HALL COST HARRIS CAMPAIGN FAR MORE THAN INITIALLY CLAIMED: REPORT
The Free Beacon also noted that the Society of Professional Journalists called the move a “black eye” on both MSNBC and journalism. Reporter Chuck Ross posted on X that MSNBC ignored inquires related to the story until the Society of Professional Journalists spoke out.
It’s been a difficult few weeks for MSNBC, as liberal viewers have fled the network since Trump’s victory over Harris on Election Day. Since the election, MSNBC is down 42% among total day viewers and down 52% during primetime compared to its 2024 averages. Parent company Comcast also announced it would spin off its cable assets, including MSNBC, into a separate company over the next year, leaving MSNBC staffers unsure about the fate of shared resources with NBC News.
Sharpton wasn’t the only media ally that received a payment from the campaign to his organization ahead of their sit-down interview, a recent New York Times report revealed.
The campaign also gave a $350,000 payment to Nu Vision Media on September 9, according to FEC filings first reported by the Times. Nu Vision Media is a media company run by progressive journalist Roland Martin. Martin, a Harris supporter, interviewed her on his streaming program in October.
The former CNN contributor told the Times the payment was for advertising.
“It should have been a hell of a lot more,” he said, according to the report. “More should have been spent on Black-owned media.”
The campaign also made two $500,000 payments to Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on Oct. 15, a month after Winfrey’s town hall with Harris and weeks before the pair appeared at a Harris Philadelphia rally, FEC filings show.
The full price of the event with Winfrey was closer to $2.5 million, Harris allies told the Times.
A Harpo Productions spokesperson acknowledged to Variety that the company took money from the campaign but claimed it was for “production costs.”
Fox News’ Stepheny Price, Kristine Parks and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this article.
