Former Vice President Joe Biden’s shrinking war chest saw nearly $1 million depleted in the last few months in funding the cost of air travel on private jets.

“You can hardly blame Joe Biden,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson quipped on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Wednesday. “He has a message he’s desperate to disseminate as far and wide as he can. The message? We must confront the existential threat of global warming.”

(Video: Fox News)

Carlson noted recent disclosures that revealed the 2020 Democratic candidate is “traveling in style,” with his campaign spending over $924,000 on private jets over the past three months.

“In a nationwide campaign for a country of 320 million, one in every $16 from Biden’s campaign treasury went to flying private,” Carlson said, referring to recent data from the Federal Election Commission.

More than $923,000 was spent in the third quarter of 2019 by the Democratic front-runner’s campaign funding private jets from the company EJCR, LLC Dba Advanced Aviation Team. Biden is now looking at less than $9 million in cash-on-hand after his campaign took in about $15.7 million during the third quarter. But in the same period of time, $17.6 million was spent, according to The Daily Beast.

This figure is a far cry from what his Democratic rivals have on hand as California Sen. Kamala Harris has $10.5 million, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has $25.7 million and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign outpaces his opponents with $33.7 million, according to The Washington Post.

“Can he do better at fundraising? Absolutely. And I think he will,” Biden donor and fundraiser Steve Westly said.

But Biden seems to have spent a chunk of his cash on efforts to raise more of it.

According to The Daily Beast:

The former vice president spent more than $230,000 on “fundraising consultants” during Q3; nearly $500,000 on direct mail; and major chunks of change on high-end hotels in cities that serve as donor hubs but aren’t centrally located in early-voting states. During the third quarter period, the Biden campaign spent more than $20,000 at the Carlyle Hotel in New York City; more than $14,000 at the Coronado Island Marriott in San Diego; more than $4,400 at the Hotel Jerome Auberge in Aspen; more than $10,500 at the W Hotel in Los Angeles, and more than $3,000 at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Another $9 million was spent on payroll and large sums went to hiring consultants and aides during the third quarter, with $228,378 on research consultants and $150,400 on “strategic consultants.”

Biden told reporters in Ohio that he was not worried about concerns over his campaign’s bleeding funds.

“We are doing fine. Fundraising is building, we’ve raised a lot of money online, and we’ve raised money offline as well. So we feel confident we’re going to be ready,” he said.

On the question of air travel in light of the Democrat’s remarks on the climate, a Biden aide explained that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by his private jet travels were compensated for with the campaign paying for carbon offsets.

Phil Singer, who for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign, noted that a balance must be struck between the comfort of a candidate in the demanding schedule required during the race and an eye on finances.

“When you are a candidate running for president, the other thing to keep in mind is, it is a difficult and rigorous schedule, and to the extent there are creature comforts that people have, they are going to do whatever they can to make the person comfortable,” he said. “But it is something they will have to solve fairly soon. Money, after all, doesn’t grow on trees.”

Biden’s comments about the climate and its “existential threat to the world” were mocked by Carlson on Wednesday.

“You can’t wait for us to take on what is happening to our climate,” Biden exclaimed.

“It can’t wait!” Carlson said, noting the nearly $1 million in air travel by the Democrat. “An existential threat to the entire plant planet is nothing compared to the marginal comfort of one failing presidential candidate.”

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Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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