On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) defended the exorbitant use of private jets to fly around the country during his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Fox News host Bret Baier broached the topic during an interview with Sanders on “Special Report.”
WATCH: @BretBaier challenges Bernie Sanders on why he spent $221k using private jets during his ‘fighting oligarchy’ tour pic.twitter.com/lMii8D4HC1
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He first alluded to a POLITICO report on how Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) urged Democrats to stop harping on the “oligarchy” because the term does not resonate beyond coastal institutions.
Then Baier referred to a recent Washington Free Beacon story on Sanders’ main campaign committee, Friends of Bernie Sanders, spending $221,723 chartering private jets during the first quarter of 2025 after and the senator spending millions of dollars on such flights over the years.
“You know, Elissa Slotkin, senator from Michigan, she said you shouldn’t be using ‘oligarch,’ it’s over people’s head. You’ve gotten criticized from other people,” Baier said. “Free Beacon says Bernie Sanders spent $221,000 on private jets [amid the] ‘Fighting Oligarchy” Tour, paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders. That you’ve spent millions of dollars in campaign funds on private jet travel over the years. How do you push back on both of those things?”
Sanders’ initial inclination was to take a swipe at President Donald Trump.
“When’s the last time you saw Donald Trump during a campaign mode at National Airport?” Sanders asked.
“No, no, no. It doesn’t. But he’s also not fighting the oligarchy,” Baier replied.
“No. You run a campaign and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. The only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people,” Sanders said. “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. No apologies for that.”
He added: “That’s what campaign travel is about. We’ve done it in the past, we’re going to do it in the future.”
With the reporting on the price tag for the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour flights, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) criticized Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for their jet-setting ways with a not-so-subtle nod to their climate activism.
“Champagne socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demand Americans surrender their pick-up trucks, air conditioning and meat from the luxe leather seats of their private jets that cost more per hour than most Americans earn in months. Their hypocrisy is staggering,” NRCC spokesperson Ben Petersen told Fox News Digital.
