Bernie Sanders 2020 Campaign Tour Rider

JANUARY 15--After a hard day of campaigning, Senator Bernie Sanders likes to settle down in a frigid hotel suite with a cozy down comforter and a bathroom that has been checked for “leaky faucets, slow flushing toilets, slow draining bathtubs,” according to a tour rider prepared by the candidate’s staff.

The two-page “Senator Comfort Memo”--which, for some reason, is marked “Confidential: For Campaign Staff Use Only”--details some of the 78-year-old politician’s lodging preferences while on the road.

The memo, dated April 10, 2019, contains none of the excesses often seen in the riders of other major touring acts (we’re looking at you Dave Grohl, ice cube diva). Though the Sanders rider does advocate the poaching of “mini honey bottles or single honey packs” encountered at hotels. "Stock up!" campaign aides are told.

For Sanders, who is referred to as “SBS” in the memo, a “small junior suite” is ideal. “We have no need for a large suite--please avoid this upgrade as much as possible,” the memo states. The candidate also seeks a “Bathtub, if the hotel has that option” and a room thermostat set at 60 degrees. “ALWAYS TEST, SET, AND RUN THE THERMOSTAT BEFORE ARRIVAL,” the memo advises advance team personnel.

Sanders is pictured above talking to a hotel maid earlier this year.

As for the location of Sanders’s suite, it should not be “near elevators, ice machines, or other high foot traffic spots.” Additionally, hotel management should be asked “if any other groups are staying at the hotel and adjust floor placement as necessary to ensure a quiet stay.”

If any of Sanders’s seven grandchildren are traveling with him, campaign workers are advised to secure a room for them adjoining Sanders’s suite. An aide to Sanders’s wife Jane should also be apprised if the hotel has a pool and/or hot tub since, “This is particularly important if the grandchildren are accompanying SBS and Jane.”

As part of “QUALITY CONTROL BEFORE ARRIVAL,” Sanders aides must remove any “hotel pamphlets/signage from bed and side-tables.” They must also test the room’s lights, TV, keys, and “Check for any leaky faucets, slow flushing toilets, slow draining bathtubs, hot water, etc..”

While Sanders has been a persistent critic of Donald Trump and his policies, the Democratic candidate appears to share the current president’s concern about the insufficient flushing power of today’s toilets.

Upon Sanders’s departure, a staffer must “toss the room” to ensure that “nothing was left behind (documents, computers, personal belongings, etc.).” The memo notes that any documents discovered must be shredded. (2 pages)