On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) defended the exorbitant use of private jets to fly around the country during his “Fighting Oligarchy&#8221; tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Fox News host Bret Baier broached the topic during an interview with Sanders on &#8220;Special Report.&#8221;
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WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/BretBaier?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BretBaier</a> challenges Bernie Sanders on why he spent $221k using private jets during his ‘fighting oligarchy’ tour <a href="https://t.co/lMii8D4HC1">pic.twitter.com/lMii8D4HC1</a>
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TVNewsNow/status/1920246236898070980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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He first alluded to a POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/24/slotkin-has-a-war-plan-to-beat-trump-dont-be-weak-and-woke-00308176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> 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 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/friends-of-bernie-sanders-spent-200k-on-jets-for-his-fighting-oligarchy-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent</a> Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/bernie-spent-221k-on-private-jets-while-railing-against-trump-during-fighting-oligarchy-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">story</a> on Sanders&#8217; 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.
&#8220;You know, Elissa Slotkin, senator from Michigan, she said you shouldn&#8217;t be using &#8216;oligarch,&#8217; it&#8217;s over people&#8217;s head. You&#8217;ve gotten criticized from other people,&#8221; Baier said. &#8220;Free Beacon says Bernie Sanders spent $221,000 on private jets [amid the] &#8216;Fighting Oligarchy&#8221; Tour, paid for by Friends of Bernie Sanders. That you&#8217;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?&#8221;
Sanders&#8217; initial inclination was to take a swipe at President Donald Trump.
&#8220;When&#8217;s the last time you saw Donald Trump during a campaign mode at National Airport?&#8221; Sanders asked.
&#8220;No, no, no. It doesn&#8217;t. But he&#8217;s also not fighting the oligarchy,&#8221; Baier replied.
&#8220;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,&#8221; Sanders said. &#8220;Think I&#8217;m going to be sitting on a waiting line at United, waiting, you know, while 30,000 people are waiting? That&#8217;s the only way you can get around. No apologies for that.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;That&#8217;s what campaign travel is about. We&#8217;ve done it in the past, we&#8217;re going to do it in the future.&#8221;
With the reporting on the price tag for the “Fighting Oligarchy&#8221; 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.
&#8220;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,&#8221; NRCC spokesperson Ben Petersen <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/champagne-socialists-sanders-aoc-spotted-exiting-private-jet-fighting-oligarchy-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News Digital.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

‘No Apologies’ From Bernie Sanders For $221K Spent On Private Jets During ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Tour

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Bernie Sanders

Bret Baier

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While Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has traveled around the country since late February on his “Fighting Oligarchy Tour,” his principal campaign committee has reportedly spent more than $200,000 chartering private jets in the last few months.
“Friends of Bernie Sanders, which manages the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, contracted three firms that charter jets: Cirrus Aviation Services, N-Jet, and Ventura Jets, according to the filings,” The Washington Free Beacon, which examined the campaign’s expenditures, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/bernie-spent-221k-on-private-jets-while-railing-against-trump-during-fighting-oligarchy-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported.</a> “Payments to those three firms accounted for nearly 75 percent of the campaign&#8217;s total transportation costs during that period. The campaign spent another $63,830 on commercial airline tickets. It also spent nearly $41,000 on lodging and $248,245 on event production.”
Sanders and his chosen favorite Rep. Alexandria  Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) “chartered a private jet worth up to a staggering $15,000 an hour for several West Coast stops on their ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ tour,” Fox News<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/champagne-socialists-sanders-aoc-spotted-boarding-private-jet-fighting-oligarchy-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> reported</a> Thursday.
“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,” National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesperson Ben Petersen <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/champagne-socialists-sanders-aoc-spotted-154847767.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>.
In the third quarter of 2017, Sanders’ campaign spent more than $37,000 on private jet travel, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-senate-campaign-spent-nearly-40g-on-private-jets-last-quarter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Federal Election Commission records. In 2014, Sanders railed against carbon emissions, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-we-need-a-carbon-tax_b_5571408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">writing</a>, “The fossil fuel industry is destroying the planet with impunity and getting rich while doing it. That must end.”
“We will not accept a rigged economy where working people struggle while billionaires become richer,&#8221; Sanders said on Tuesday. “We have got to create an economy that works for working people, not just Mr. [Elon] Musk and the billionaire class.”
In the February 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate in Nevada, Sanders <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/full-transcript-ninth-democratic-debate-las-vegas-n1139546" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a>, “We are living in many ways in a socialist society right now.” He continued by attacking former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, saying, “I believe in democratic socialism for working people, not billionaires, health care for all, educational opportunities for all. Creating a government that works for all, not just for Mr. Bloomberg.”
Bloomberg fired back, “What a wonderful country we have. The best-known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses. What did I miss here?”
Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus once <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/home-depot-cofounder-bernie-sanders-is-the-enemy-of-every-entrepreneur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> of Sanders, “Don’t bring up Bernie Sanders, because that&#8217;s a red flag in front of me. He is the enemy of every entrepreneur that&#8217;s ever going to be born in this country and has been born in the past.&#8221;

Bernie Sanders And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Hold “Fighting Oligarchy” Rally In L.A.

‘Friends Of Bernie Sanders’ Spent 200K On Jets For His ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Tour

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‘No Apologies’ From Bernie Sanders For $221K Spent On Private Jets During ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Tour

‘Friends Of Bernie Sanders’ Spent 200K On Jets For His ‘Fighting Oligarchy’ Tour