Commotion: Bernie Sanders' Campaign Trail Requests

Misbar’s investigation has concluded that Senator Sanders’s travel requests were detailed but that they were not necessarily unreasonable. They are also comparable to other politicians’ campaign trail requests. 

The Smoking Gun published Sanders’s tour rider, which listed the requests. “We have no need for a large suite–please avoid this upgrade as much as possible,” it began. Other requests included non-smoking rooms, a king sized bed, a bathtub “if the hotel has that option,” and for the room to be placed away from elevators and ice machines. Items in the rider state that the senator was open to alternatives.  For instance, as Fox News and other sources stated, Senator Sanders did request a down comforter. The document also makes it clear that if there were no comforters at the hotel, an extra blanket would suffice. 

The requirements in the rider are typical for a politician. For comparison, in 2018, now president Joe Biden gave a speech at the University of Buffalo, and for this, he requested three rooms for his staff members, with refrigerators stocked with bottled water, Coca Cola, Gatorade, and coffee. Food wise, Biden asked for mixed nuts, a fruit plate, and angel hair pasta. 

Additionally, the Fox News article states that Sanders had demands for private aircraft. However, the only requirements that the senator asked for were that the planes could not be “too cramped” or “too bumpy.” Other sources that have listed the supposed demands have amplified his hotel requirements over these aircraft requests. For example, in The Hill’s report, the aircraft details are not mentioned in the headline or in the first 11 paragraphs of the report.

Senator Sanders’s requirements have previously been listed in the news. In January, 2020, The Daily Mail reported on the hotel rider document. Only at this time, the source did not refer to the items in the rider as “demands.” Instead, in this instance, the source called them “requests.” 

Fox News and other sources are making this information news, as they have been recounted in the new book, “Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats Campaigns to Defeat Trump.” This book contains criticism of Senator Sanders’s demeanor on the campaign trail. It claims that at one point, the senator was rude to a hotel employee when she couldn’t get the air conditioner temperature to his desired level. However, this incident may not have been as serious as the Fox News article claims, as it comes from an excerpt from the book, which itself was based on interviews.

It is hyperbolic to state that Senator Sanders’s requirements were “demands,” as previous reporting calls them “requests,” and the items in the campaign documentation supports this definition. It may be true that the senator was once rude to a hotel employee. We rate the reports as commotion.