“A federal judge has ruled former President Donald Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song ‘Hold On, I’m Coming,'” CNN reports.
“The decision came after the estate of the late R&B artist and songwriter Isaac Hayes sought an emergency injunction to stop the Trump campaign from using the song at campaign events, alleging the campaign does not have approval.”
“Jack White is joining the growing list of angry musicians threatening to sue the Trump campaign over the use of their music in his promotional posts,” Variety reports.
Said White: “Don’t even think about using my music you fascists.”
He added: “A double fuck you DonOLD for insulting our nation’s veterans at Arlington you scum. You should lose every military family’s vote immediately from that if anything makes sense anymore.”
“A representative for Beyoncé says the singer will not attend the 2024 Democratic National Convention,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Said the Grammy-winning star’s rep: “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there. The report of a performance is untrue.”
“Beyoncé is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night of the Democratic National Convention,” TMZ reports.
“Multiple sources in the know tell us Queen Bey will be the big surprise performer as VP Harris officially accepts the Democratic party’s nomination to run for president.”
Simone Biles, on X, a day after winning her ninth Olympic medal: “I love my black job 🖤”
“After weeks of disarray, the Democratic Party finally faced a welcome problem: Too many celebrities were calling,” CNN reports.
“Following an uncharacteristic dry spell of celebrity support for President Joe Biden that had persisted for months as he sought a second term, Hollywood has been reignited in full force and is ready to back the party’s new presumptive nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, as she fights against former President Donald Trump.”
“Actor George Clooney on Tuesday endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, hailing her ‘historic’ White House bid following President Joe Biden’s exit from the 2024 presidential race,” CNN reports.
“Clooney is seen by many Democratic backers in Hollywood as a sort of compass given his engagement and activism. When he penned a New York Times op-ed earlier this month calling for the president to not seek reelection in the wake of his disastrous debate performance, it was one of several watershed moments in a movement that ultimately ended with Biden’s decision on Sunday to exit the race.”
“Actor Matthew McConaughey continued to tease he might run for political office to a room full of governors Friday, joshing about drinking his brand of tequila with at least one of them the night before and taking advice from another to be himself if he ever does run,” the AP reports.
Wall Street Journal: “It was a night that combined Democratic politics with Hollywood star power. Clooney’s co-host was his frequent co-star, Julia Roberts. Barbra Streisand jeered Donald Trump, and Jack Black took to the stage in a pair of overalls adorned with the stars and stripes.”
“The president received a standing ovation when he took the stage. But for some audience members, the mood changed when he started taking questions.”
“To some in the audience, Biden appeared at times to struggle through answers or keep up with the conversationalists, a harbinger of what millions of Americans would see in the debate weeks later.”
Axios: George Clooney juices Dems’ rebellion against Biden.
George Clooney, writing in the New York Times:
“I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as president. I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced.”
“But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fundraiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe. But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign.”
“The fakest thing about The West Wing was that we had rational Republicans.”
— Bradley Whitford, who played fictional White House deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman on The West Wing, quoted by The Hill.
Los Angeles Times: “Politically active since he was a teenager — but often behind the scenes as a top fundraiser — Katzenberg this year is taking on the highest-profile political role he’s ever had, as a co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign in what will likely be a tough race against Trump.”
“He’s Biden’s only campaign co-chair who is not an elected official, a sign of how entrenched Katzenberg has become in Democratic politics since his peak as a Hollywood mogul. After decades spent shaping the stories that Americans watch on the silver screen, Katzenberg now spends all of his time — and some of his fortune — influencing politics in Los Angeles, California and the nation.”
“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot. A two-bit playboy lying his way into the tabloids… He’s a clown… But this person can’t run the country. That does not work, and we all know that.”
— Robert DeNiro, speaking outside the courthouse where Donald Trump is on trial.
“If Taylor Swift ran for president and would listen to great advisers, I’d consider supporting her.”
— Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio, quoted by the Financial Times.
Mick Jagger took a swipe at Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) while playing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Shreveport Times reports.
JAGGER: We’re an inclusive group. We like to include everyone. The governor is here, and we’d like to include him, even though he’s trying to take us back to the Stone Age.
LANDRY: You can’t always get what you want. The only person who might remember the Stone Age is Mick Jagger.
Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) announced he is back into drag after 18 years.
He had previously denied he’d ever been a drag performer.
Comedian Rob Schneider “delivered a comedy set so off-color and off-putting to a group of prominent Republicans late last year that the host cut the performance short and later apologized to attendees,” Politico reports.
A Los Angeles Times obituary for O.J. Simpson accidentally used the name “Trump” in place of “Simpson” near the end of their obituary describing the former football star leaving prison.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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