CBS News host Margaret Brennan confronted Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on “Face The Nation” Sunday about benefiting from capitalism as expensive tickets for his book tour are sold on Ticketmaster.
Sanders is set to promote his new book, “It’s Ok To Be Angry About Capitalism,” during a March 1 event at Anthem in Washington D.C. Tickets for front row seats to his event are selling on Ticketmaster for $95.
Brennan pressed the self-described Democratic Socialist on “benefiting” from capitalism through the ticket sales.
“Tickets for your tour are apparently selling for $95 on Ticketmaster which is accused of anti-competitive behavior. Aren’t you benefitting yourself from this system that you’re trying to dismantle?” she asked.
“First of all, those decisions are made totally by the publisher and the bookseller,” Sanders replied. “I think there’s one case where in one place here in Washington, Politics and Prose, an independent bookseller, is charging come tickets—$40, $50—and you get a book as well.”
“But you’re okay doing business with Ticketmaster?” Brennan asked.
“No, not particularly, but I have nothing to do with that. If you wrote a book, it would probably be the same process,” the senator said. (RELATED: Tennessee AG Investigating Ticketmaster After Taylor Swift Presale Chaos)
He added that he is forced to “operate in the system” to write and sell a book under a major publisher.
Sanders faced scrutiny from Republicans for the expensive ticket sales and for allowing them to be purchased off of Ticketmaster.
“Anyone else see the “irony” in Bernie Sanders selling tickets for his “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism” book tour on Ticketmaster?” Republican Michigan Rep. Bill Huizinga wrote on Twitter.
Anyone else see the “irony” in Bernie Sanders selling tickets for his “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism” book tour on Ticketmaster?
— Rep. Bill Huizenga (@RepHuizenga) January 31, 2023
Bernie Sanders is selling tickets to his book tour, “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism.”
On Ticketmaster.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) January 31, 2023
A bipartisan group of senators held a Senate Judiciary hearing in January to investigate Ticketmaster and suspected monopoly power after its mishandling of Taylor Swift’s “The Era’s Tour” ticket sales. Purchasers of the tickets experienced website outages, wait times, astronomical prices and widespread confusion over the pre-sale.