OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
You may have heard the term limousine liberal before but former Democrat presidential candidate and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar took the expression literally and used campaign funds to do it.
Campaign records in her most recent filings show that she spent more than $5,000 in campaign donations at the Beverly Hills Hilton and $772 on a limousine company when she attended a fundraiser hosted by John Legend and Chrissy Teigen at their home, The Daily Mail reported.
The liberal celebrity duo reportedly raised over $1 million that night on behalf of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee. One guest told The Hollywood Reporter that Teigen and Legend stressed the importance of the next Senate election cycle, particularly with regard to protecting voting rights.
Klobuchar charged her campaign $1,057.61 at the Beverly Hilton on Nov. 5 and another $4099.21 on Nov. 8. Filings also showed a $772.50 charge to MG Limousine in Los Angeles on Nov. 8. The charges were first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Beverly Hilton is a famously posh hotel that invites its guests to ‘stay among the stars.’ It is best known for hosting the Golden Globe Awards, and pricing ranges from $400 a night for a standard room to $4,500 a night for a suite.
Five Democratic senators attended the soiree, as did a star-studded cast of actors and entertainment moguls.
Klobuchar, Corey Booker, Alex Padilla, Gary Peters, and Ron Wyden each gave a few moments of remarks followed by a half-hour piano performance by Legend.
The senator is a friend of Legend and Teigen but those close to her have said that she has worked hard to portray herself as an average American.
“If you knew her 20 years ago you wouldn’t say, ‘That’s a folksy person.’ She’s really worked at it,” University of Minnesota political scientist Larry Jacobs said in 2019. “It’s genuine, it’s not a put-on. But she’s also been very conscious of creating an aura around herself of, ‘oh, shucks.’ And the humor thing, too.”
But as much as she has worked on her image, rumors have persisted that the senator has abused her staff. The New York Times reported in 2019.
“An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once on board, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight,” the report said.
But then the senator used a comb she had with her to eat the salad and then demanded that one of her staffers clean it, the report said.
“Am I a tough boss sometimes? Yes,” she said at a CNN forum. “Have I pushed people too hard? Yes.”
Emails to her staff showed how abusive she could be.
“In 20 years in politics I have never seen worse prep,” she said in one email, furious with how preparations for an event were handled by her staff.
“This is the hands down worse thing you have ever given me,” she said in another email.
Carlie Waibel, a spokesperson for the campaign, defended the senator to The Times.
“The senator has repeatedly acknowledged that she can be tough and push people hard. But these anonymous stories — some of which are just plain ridiculous — do not overshadow the countless experiences of people on the senator’s team who she has been so proud to work with,” she said.
Did the staff that she berated get to ride in the limousine or stay at the hotel with her? We do not know. But we do know how she likes to spend other people’s donations.