OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders has made a career from denouncing capitalism, but he may be a hypocrite.
The 81-year-old senator, with a net worth of $3 million, spoke to anchor Margaret Brennan on the CBS Sunday show “Face The Nation” where she confronted him on his selling tickets for $95 to an event promoting his book which decries capitalism.
“Tickets for your tour apparently are selling for $95 on Ticketmaster, which is accused of anti-competitive behavior. You know that some of your [fellow] Democrats are criticizing them. Aren’t you benefiting from the same system you’re trying to dismantle?” she said.
Including the $16 Ticketmaster surcharge the tickets are $111 and include a copy of his book, hilariously titled “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism.”
“Those decisions are made totally by the publisher and the bookseller,” the senator said. “I think there’s one case where in one place here in Washington, Politics and Prose, an independent bookstore charging some tickets. Most of them, I think are 40 dollars, 50 dollars, and you get a book as well. So if you want to come, you’re going to have to pay 40 bucks, I’ll throw in the book for free. And we’re doing a number of free events. But I don’t make a nickel out of these things.”
“But you’re okay doing business with Ticketmaster?” the host said.
“No, not particularly,” the senator said, again blaming his publisher, though there is no reason he could not have self-published the book.
“But that’s again, I had nothing to do with that. That is- if you wrote a book, probably be the same process,” he said.
“So you have to operate within the system,” the host said.
“I do. Write a book, a major publisher, etc. etc,” the senator said.
"Tickets for your [book] tour apparently are selling for $95 on Ticketmaster, which is accused of anti-competitive behavior…aren’t you benefitting yourself from the system that you’re trying to dismantle?”
Bernie Sanders says "no." 🤔 pic.twitter.com/JIcpW0kaw5
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 19, 2023
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a photo of herself and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on social media during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening that some users believe inadvertently exposed him for hypocrisy.
Sanders appeared to be one of the only members of Congress to have worn a mask to the event, which drew praise from several people online who noticed.
“Wearing a good quality face mask as Sanders did protected not only him but also anyone else he might have interacted with during and after the State of the Union address,” Forbes’ Bruce Y. Lee wrote. “And that’s going to be especially important if Sanders interacted with anyone at higher risk for more severe Covid-19.”
“Bernie Sanders is the only person wearing a KN95 mask at the #StateOfTheUnionAddress. Respect that man – @SenSanders thank you,” tweeted Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist.
Bernie Sanders is the only person wearing a KN95 mask at the #StateOfTheUnionAddress. Respect that man – @SenSanders thank you. 🙏pic.twitter.com/xkmbUIDTik
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) February 8, 2023
Others tweeted praise for Sanders as well.
Thank you, @BernieSanders for still masking #SOTU #SOTU2023 pic.twitter.com/KYmNj6C0zr
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) February 8, 2023
Actually it is a KN-95. Still a good example by Bernie. pic.twitter.com/kPRhZWDOW3
— Ron Chusid (@RonChusid) February 8, 2023
But then “AOC” posted a photo showing Sanders, maskless, smiling with her and several others on the floor of Congress, and that drew responses from other Twitter users suggesting that Sanders’ mask was just political theater.
State of the Union ✅ pic.twitter.com/4mGyVEF2NZ
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) February 8, 2023
“So the mask really was just for the cameras,” wrote journalist Keean Bexte.
“Step one: wear mask to crowded place Step two: get in middle of crowd and remove mask,” another user noted.
“State of the ‘science,'” noted another user with a side-by-side collage of photos showing Sanders masked and unmasked.
State of the “science” https://t.co/jxmpKrE1QG pic.twitter.com/3ETRdHDxHB
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) February 9, 2023
“So this old dude still has a mask on his face, but who moves it down for the photo. I guess COVID doesn’t hit when you take a picture,” another user noted sarcastically.
“I am once again telling you masks are essential except when posing in large crowds with fellow Democrats,” said another.
If the president decides not to be a contender for president in the next election, a close advisor of Democrat Socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is 81-years-old, said that the senator would “take another look” at a presidential bid, CBS News reported.
“I assume that he would give it a hard look,” Faiz Shakir, who managed Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, said. “I don’t want to make the judgment for him. Obviously, it would be his choice to make. But I assume that he would want to reevaluate it.”
He said that the senator is “very aware that he’s older now and he’d have to make a real judgment about his own vigor and his stamina and his desire and hunger and passion to do this a third time. But if it were an open field? Yeah, I’m confident he would take another look at it and say, ‘Do I want to do this or not?'”
“Personally, I take President Biden at his word and our orbit takes him at his word that he’s taking it seriously and presume that he is leaning toward yes,” he said.
