Bill and Hillary Clinton to Start 13-City Paid Speaking Tour After Midterms

(Bloomberg) -- Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will embark on a 13-city tour starting next month with paid joint appearances across the U.S. and Canada, they announced Monday.

A ticket to see the political couple could cost more than a music concert or professional sports game. The least expensive tickets for the first event in Las Vegas were going for about $72 on Ticketmaster. Tickets for an event in Oakland were listed for as much as $750.

The tour and ticket prices could reignite criticism of the former first couple for profiting from their former offices. During the 2016 campaign, Republicans blasted Hillary Clinton for giving highly paid speeches to corporate audiences after leaving public service.

Another former first lady, Michelle Obama, will also be on a paid arena tour at the same time as the Clintons. Starting Nov. 13, Obama will be on a 10-city book tour for her memoir, titled “Becoming,” with tickets from $29.50 to more than $3,000.

Hillary Clinton has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s administration, with a book, speeches and public commentary that have lambasted the president who defeated her in 2016. Bill Clinton has also criticized Trump.

‘Inspiring Anecdotes’

The Clinton events, produced by Live Nation, “will feature joint on-stage conversations with the two leaders sharing stories and inspiring anecdotes that shaped their historic careers in public service, while also discussing issues of the day and looking towards the future,” Live Nation said in a statement.

The first event in Las Vegas will be on Nov. 18.

Tickets for the events go on sale Friday, less than a month before a crucial midterm election that will shape the second half of Trump’s first term in office. Trump has continued to attack Clinton on the campaign trail as he tries to rally his base of voters ahead of the election that will determine whether Republicans continue to control both chambers of Congress.

To contact the reporter on this story: Toluse Olorunnipa in Washington at tolorunnipa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Mike Dorning, Larry Liebert

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