Ice Cream, Luxury Hotels, Jets: How Kamala Harris' Campaign Cost $12 Million

US Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign spent $12 million on private jet travel, with $2.6 million shelled out in the final days of her campaign alone, Federal Election Commission (FEC) data revealed. The campaign, between October 1 and October 17, reportedly paid nearly $2.2 million to Private Jet Services Group, a South Florida-based company, and an extra $430,000 to Advanced Aviation Team, a Virginia-based charter flight broker.

Critics were quick to point out the disconnect between Harris' use of private jets – up to 14 times more polluting than commercial flights – and her past statements labelling global warming as an “existential threat.”

“Kamala Harris and a lot of pro-climate leaders have a lot of hypocrisy with the words that they state and the realities they must think are real,” Benji Backer, founder of the American Conservation Coalition told the NY Post. “We need sensible solutions on environment and climate issues, but we're not going to get them when there's so much hypocrisy coming from the elitists.”

Private Jet Services Group claims its flights are carbon-neutral due to a reforestation program, though it remains unclear if the campaign purchased carbon offsets for these flights.

Beyond the millions spent on private air travel, the campaign incurred significant costs on items like $12,097 for food delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, $12,081 on ice cream, and $62,772 on accommodations and catering at the luxury Hotel Du Pont in Delaware. 

Other expenditures included $9,600 on food and drinks at Pebble Bar in New York City and $6,000 to rent space at a board game cafe in Arizona. 

The campaign also funnelled $5.6 million to various left-leaning advocacy groups, including Voto Latino, Make the Road Action Fund, and Al Sharpton's National Action Network. 

Despite burning through a record-breaking $1.6 billion in combined campaign funds, Harris' campaign ended with $20 million in debt. Critics within the Democratic Party have pointed to the wasteful spending as a major reason for her loss, with some questioning the decision-making process.

“You are looking at these seven-figure luxury costs and thinking, ‘Couldn't that have been deployed to reach guys who listen to podcasts, to Hispanic men, or suburban voters?'” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish.

While Harris' team spent heavily on ad buys through Media Buying & Analytics LLC – receiving $281 million in campaign funds – Donald Trump gained ground across the US and won the election.

GOP consultant Erin Perrine summarised the fallout: “Instead of getting the message out, they wanted to have a party. That's not how it works.”