Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s re-election campaign spent just under $300,000 on private jet use in October, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show.
The Sanders campaign, which is funded primarily by small-dollar donors, paid Apollo Jets $297,685.50 on Oct. 10, FEC records reveal. The payment was marked for “transportation.”
“This expense was for transportation for the senator’s 9-day, 9-state tour to support Democratic candidates up and down the ballot ahead of Election Day,” campaign spokeswoman Arianna Jones told local website VtDigger.com, which first reported on the jet expenses.
“This cost covered the entirety of the tour from Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, California, and back to Vermont,” Jones said.
Sanders’s private jet use comes despite the senator’s hard-line stance on climate change, which he has consistently called “the single greatest threat facing our planet.”
Climate change is the single greatest threat facing our planet. On Nov 6th, we must show up at the polls from coast to coast and stand with candidates who are willing and ready to accelerate our transition to clean energy, and finally put people before the profits of polluters.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 18, 2018
Because flying generates significantly more greenhouse gases than driving, climate hawks generally advocate against taking unnecessary flights.