Bernie Sanders Defends Private Jet Use During Anti-Oligarchy Tour: “No Apologies for That”

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Bernie Sanders Defends Private Jet Use During Anti-Oligarchy Tour: “No Apologies for That”

 

Senator Bernie Sanders has stirred controversy after unapologetically defending his use of private jets during his recent “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, a campaign aimed at challenging the ultra-wealthy. Despite criticism for the apparent contradiction between his socialist values and his high-cost travel methods, the 83-year-old Vermont senator stood firm, insisting that private air travel was a logistical necessity.

Bernie Sanders: "You think I should wait on line at United? No apologies for my private jets."

Socialists are beyond parody pic.twitter.com/MF6dDHOiyE

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 8, 2025

 

In a candid exchange on Fox News’ “Special Report,” Sanders dismissed the backlash surrounding his jet-setting, saying, “No apologies for that. That’s what campaign travel is about. We’ve done it in the past. We’re gonna do it in future.” Asked about the optics of using private aircraft while railing against the rich, Sanders responded pointedly: “You think I’m gonna be sitting on a waiting line at United … while 30,000 people are waiting?”

 

 

Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a fellow progressive firebrand, were recently photographed stepping off a Bombardier Challenger 604 — a luxury jet that reportedly costs around $15,000 an hour to charter. Their cross-country tour, intended to highlight income inequality and corporate greed, faced renewed scrutiny after Federal Election Commission filings showed Sanders’ campaign spent more than $221,000 on private air travel in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

 

Critics quickly pounced on what they saw as a glaring contradiction between Sanders’ environmental advocacy and his carbon-heavy travel choices. When challenged on this point, Sanders fired back: “When was the last time you saw Donald Trump during the campaign mode at a national airport?”

The backlash online was fierce and immediate. “Socialists are beyond parody,” one user posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another wrote, “A multi-millionaire who’s too good to wait in line at the airport like the rest of us peasants and is instead flying around on private jets is ‘fighting oligarchy’ and climate change?” One particularly biting comment read, “He should just admit that he thinks his work is more important than the work of people on a United flight.”

 

Despite the uproar, Sanders remained unmoved. He stressed that the demands of a national campaign require fast, efficient travel. “You run a campaign and you do three or four or five rallies in a week. That’s the only way you can get around to talk to 30,000 people,” he said, underscoring the intensity of his schedule and the practical constraints of commercial air travel.

While Sanders’ unapologetic tone has drawn criticism, it also reflects a broader tension within progressive politics — the balance between ideals and the logistical realities of modern campaigning. For now, the senator seems content to take the heat, confident that the urgency of his message justifies the means by which it is delivered.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from NYP  2025-05-10

 

 

[Snackbar]

Some animals are more equal than others

[JonnyF]

Give him a break.

 

He wouldn't be a real socialist without the flagrant hypocrisy.

 

He should wear this as a badge of honour. 

[wwest5829]

Very funny but consistent with the studies of the right wing outlook. Everything is right/wrong, yes/no. So Democratic Socialist cannot possibly equal a better balance between a capitalist economic system AND services provided for the citizens helping provide a secure life style in the wealthiest country on the globe.

[Negita43]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

He wouldn't be a real socialist without the flagrant hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy applies to many politicians right or left, Republican or Democrat and just to be "politically correct" male or female and to be "inclusive" or LGBT 

[RMK54]

The hypocrisy of this is that Bernie would be the first to criticize a Republican for doing the exact same thing. The initial plan for politicians by our forefathers was that politicians were only supposed to get per diem, not entitlements.

[blazes]

Think how much global warming is increased as Bernie waves his right arm about and pumps it up and down on every other word.

 

Plus he is so exhausted after all the pumping and virtue signalling that a private jet nook for him to retire to is entirely justified....

[bkk6060]

U.S. democrats the biggest hypocrites in the world.