AOC Blew Nearly $50K on Luxury Hotels, Fine Dining, and a Bad Bunny Concert Venue in Puerto Rico

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spent close to $50,000 in campaign funds on high-end travel, catering, and venue rentals in Puerto Rico over the summer, including the same arena where she was filmed dancing at a Bad Bunny concert.

Federal Election Commission records show that AOC’s campaign dropped more than $15,000 on hotel stays across the island between July and September. That included multiple visits to the Hotel Palacio Provincial, a luxury adults-only property in San Juan that describes itself as a “historic colonial” experience. On July 28, her campaign paid $680.52. On August 29, they spent another $1,507.26, and on September 29, they spent $9,440.79.

She also stayed at Hotel El Convento, a boutique hotel located in a former convent, dropping $3,861.20 on August 25. At the same time AOC was denouncing gentrification on the island via social media, her campaign was racking up charges at some of its most expensive hotels.

AOC was seen dancing with Rep. Nydia Velázquez at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico during Bad Bunny’s concert on August 10. While her campaign did not confirm whether funds were used for the concert itself, they did report spending $23,000 on “venue rental” at the same arena on June 24 and August 25.

The filings also reveal her campaign spent over $10,700 on meals and catering services on August 25 and September 29 alone. Altogether, AOC dropped more than $26,000 on food and lodging in Puerto Rico during the third quarter.

Campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben defended the expenses, saying AOC travels regularly to Puerto Rico to host events and meet with grassroots organizers. He claimed that the congresswoman is proud of her work on the island and with the Puerto Rican diaspora.

Additional spending by her campaign included luxury hotel stays and fine dining while on the mainland. During her “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Senator Bernie Sanders, AOC stayed at the Hotel Vermont in Burlington, spending $6,600. She also booked $2,000 worth of lodging at Manhattan’s Thompson Central Park Hotel and another $3,000 at the Arlo Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Records show another $6,300 was spent on a single meal at Ama, a high-end Italian restaurant in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, DC. The campaign reported over $11,500 in additional dining expenses across DC, Vermont, the Bronx, and upstate New York. That included payments to an ice cream truck company called Mr. Ding-a-Ling.

Ocasio-Cortez continues to campaign on anti-wealth and anti-corporate platforms, while her own campaign spending habits paint a very different picture.