Joe Biden's ice cream problem is costing his campaign — $3,800, to be exact.
That's how much Biden spent in one go at Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, Ohio, during the 2020 campaign to purchase "donor gifts," Politico reports via public campaign finance reports. But it's far from a surprising purchase for the ice cream-loving former vice president. Well, at least not as surprising as how much Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) spent on shoelaces.
Campaign finance reports are often used to scrutinize how much candidates spend on private flights and other luxury-adjacent services. The charter flight crown has so far gone to Biden, who spent $924,000 on the service and also carbon offsets for the flights, his campaign says. But Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) tops the Uber pool, racking up nearly $23,000 on ride-hailing services of a combined $136,000 among candidates, Politico reports.
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In more unusual purchases, candidates have so far spent more than $7,000 on flowers, with South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg spending the most at $3,100. Entrepreneur Andrew Yang meanwhile bought $3,100 worth of "campaign attire," which is a Federal Election Commission violation Yang's campaign said it'd rectify.
Perhaps the most absurd purchase comes from Swalwell, who was one of the first candidates to drop out of the race. He later transferred his 2020 funds to his congressional re-election campaign, and used $7,000 of it to buy shoelaces printed with "#Swalwelling." Find more campaign spending highlights at Politico.
