Bernie Sanders unapologetic about private jet use on anti-oligarchy tour

Rather than idle in one of his three houses, millionaire Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been traveling around the country for his Fighting Oligarchy Tour, hitting Americans up for money and giving speeches with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and other fellow travelers on “how we move forward to take on the oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country.”

When pressed Wednesday about the optics of taking a private jet around the country to complain about poverty and inequality, Sanders stated emphatically that he would not apologize for avoiding the alternative modes of travel used by everyday Americans.

Citing campaign expenditures released last month, the Washington Free Beacon indicated that Sanders’ main campaign committee, Friends of Bernie Sanders, which manages the Fighting Oligarchy Tour, spent $221,723 on chartering private jets during the first quarter of 2025.

Some of the flights taken by Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez on the “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” were reportedly worth $15,000 an hour.

Where Sanders is concerned, this is par for the course.

In the final three months of 2019, Sanders’ campaign spent nearly $1.2 million on a luxury private jet charter service — not a good look for someone critical of the wealthy and supposedly concerned about the supposed threat of climate change.

‘You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United waiting?’

During an interview Wednesday, Fox News’ Bret Baier asked the self-described democratic socialist to respond to the Beacon’s report concerning his jet travel.

Sanders initially tried to neutralize the question with some whataboutery, suggesting that President Donald Trump — who has made no claim to being a socialist — has not and would not fly commercial while in “campaign mode.”

“But he’s also not fighting the oligarchy,” said Baier.

“You run a campaign, and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. [It is] the only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people,” said Sanders. “You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United waiting? You know, while 30, 000 people are waiting?”

‘Socialism for you, luxury for him.’

Sanders stressed that private jet travel was “the only way to get around.”

“No apologies for that,” continued the senator. “That’s what campaign travel is about. We’ve done it in the past. We’re gonna do it in the future.”

“I think at a time when the people on top are doing phenomenally well, when seniors, working-class people are struggling, people want to hear action to stand up to the people who have the wealth and the power and create an economy that works for all of us, not just the people on top,” Sanders told Baier.

Critics seized upon Sanders’ comments as another example of his apparent hypocrisy.

“Ironic that a self proclaimed socialist doesn’t like to stand in line since that’s what people do in socialist countries. It’s just for food, gas, and medical attention — not flights on United,” tweeted former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R).

All-American swim star Riley Gaines noted, “The socialist who rails against the wealthy flies private and scoffs at flying commercial — socialism for you, luxury for him.”

Sanders admitted during his October appearance on the “Lex Fridman Podcast” that it is easy for politicians to lose touch with everyday Americans and their priorities, noting that “it’s a very easy trap to fall into — you can get separated from ordinary people and their struggle.”

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