NEW YORK — Bernie Sanders is now trying to raise money off George Clooney, too.
The actor hosted a pair of high-dollar fundraisers in California this weekend with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, including one in San Francisco on Friday where couples could contribute $353,400 to sit at a table with him.
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday morning, Clooney was asked by host Chuck Todd whether he thinks that is an “obscene” amount of money, as Sanders’s campaign has charged.
“Yes, I think it’s an obscene amount of money,” Clooney replied. “It is an obscene amount of money. The Sanders campaign, when they talk about it, is absolutely right. It’s ridiculous that we should have this kind of money in politics. I agree completely.”
It didn’t take long for the Sanders campaign to seize on his comments.
Before noon, the campaign had emailed out a fundraising solicitation, sharing Clooney’s quote and asking supporters to chip in $2.70 “as a way of saying you have had ENOUGH of millionaires and billionaires buying our campaigns and elections.”
The amount Sanders is seeking in his new appeal is one-tenth of what he says has been the average contribution to his campaign of $27.
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