Politics
WATCH: Fox Host Confronts Bernie Sanders Over Costly Private Jet Flights For ‘Fighting Oligarchy Tour’
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stumbled over a question about the exuberant cost of his private jet flights for the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, a nationwide speaking tour the senator has embarked on alongside U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over the last several weeks.
Throughout the tour, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have held rallies of varying sizes in primarily red states. The two have frequently railed against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk while on the campaign trail, accusing them of installing an “oligarchy,” or a form of government where power is concentrated among a small group of wealthy elites.
“Over the coming weeks, Bernie is going to be engaging in the struggle to determine where we go from here. That will take a modest amount of resources to travel, organize, hold events, and create content that reaches people where they are,” the tour’s website reads under the header, “Help fund the Fighting Oligarchy Tour.” The passage is followed by a request for donations ranging anywhere from $2.70 to $1,000.
Previous tour stops include Nampa, Idaho, Missoula, Montana, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Folsom, California.
While speaking with Fox News host Bret Baier on Wednesday, Sanders was asked about the tour’s high-priced private jet flights and how the two far-left lawmakers can reconcile this with their stances on climate change and “fighting oligarchy.”
Baier pointed to a statement from freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who objected to the use of the term “oligarchy” for the tour’s title. “She said you shouldn’t be using oligarchy, it’s over people’s heads,” Baier said, paraphrasing Slatkin’s remarks.
“You’ve gotten criticized from other people. Free Beacon says Bernie Sanders spent $221,000 on private jets, fighting the oligarchy tour, paid for by friends of Bernie Sanders. You’ve spent millions of dollars in campaign funds on private jet travel over the years,” the Fox News host added, citing a report from the Washington Free Beacon. “How do you push back on both of those things?”
A visibly annoyed Sanders immediately pushed back by redirecting the conversation to President Trump, asking Baier if he could recall the last time he saw the president at an airport. “But he’s also not ‘fighting the oligarchy,'” Baier followed up.
“No. You run a campaign and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. The only way you can get around is to talk to 30,000 people. Think I’m going to be sitting on a waiting line at United, waiting, you know, while 30,000 people are waiting? That’s the only way you can get around,” the senator responded.
“No apologies for that. That’s what campaign travel is about.We’ve done it in the past, we’re going to do it in the future.”
Baier shot back by asking whether the message is “hitting the mark,” at which point Sanders argued the private jet flights are necessary because “people want to hear action to stand up to the people who have the wealth and the power.”
