The federal government is shut down, but Donald Trump still found a way to singlehandedly save American taxpayers $3.6 million on Saturday alone — by being forced to skip his near-weekly trip to his luxury Mar-a-Lago resort.
Trump had planned a $100,000-per-ticket gala at his Florida resort on Saturday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. Because of the government shutdown that took effect at midnight on Saturday, Donald Trump was forced to stay in the White House and was unable to board Air Force One, which is out of commission amid the shutdown.
But because Donald Trump was grounded and forced to spend a rare weekend at the White House, American taxpayers were spared the estimated $3.6 million that it costs in travel, security, and various other expenditures for Trump to visit his own luxury resort.
PolitiFact noted that there is some contention around the true cost of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago visits, but cited Corey Ciorciari, policy and research director at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, who said the $3.6 million bill could actually be conservative.
While American taxpayers may save a bit of money, Donald Trump is reportedly quite angry about having to stay grounded. Democratic fundraiser Scott Dworkin reported that White House sources said Trump is “furious” about missing his party at Mar-a-Lago. Another report from The Daily Beast claimed that Trump was complaining to others in the White House about being forced to stay in D.C. for the weekend.
Multiple people close to the White House told me this morning that Trump is absolutely furious he hasn’t been able to leave for Mar-a-Lago yet. Now they are trying to figure out a way for him to get to Florida without much backlash. I don’t think that route exists. #TrumpShutdown
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 20, 2018
As the government shutdown stretches on indefinitely, Donald Trump has taken a large share of the blame for failing to craft a deal between Democrats and Republicans. As CNN noted, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has hit hard at Trump and his reputation as a deal-maker.
“Negotiating with this White House is like negotiating with jello, it is next to impossible,” Schumer said at a press conference. “It’s next to impossible to strike a deal with the President, because he can’t stick to the terms. I have found this out, Leader McConnell has found this out, Speaker Ryan has found this out.”
Schumer appeared to hit at Trump’s pride as well, hinting that someone else is pulling strings on the president’s decisions.
“When you sit with the President… you can see that he really wants to do it,” he said. “But then a few hours later because of the right wing pressure, he backs off.”
Report: Trump Is ‘Furious’ The Government Shutdown Is Preventing Him From Going To Mar-A-Lago @AndrewHusband #TrumpShutdown https://t.co/MF9YgHGqoB
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 20, 2018
With the government shutdown continuing, the American taxpayers will continue to save roughly $3.6 million for each weekend that Donald Trump is forced to stay home instead of traveling to Mar-a-Lago.