Donald Trump Takes 29th Trip To Mar-A-Lago Bringing Taxpayer Bill To Nearly $134 Million
Donald Trump has now made 29 trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort during his presidency after heading to the so-called Southern White House for the weekend. So far, as the HuffPost reports, the cumulative cost of traveling to his for-profit Palm Beach resort is costing taxpayers an astonishing $133.8 million. That is equivalent to 334 years of presidential salary.
Trump famously criticized former President Barack Obama for taking golf drips during his presidency, but so far he has spent more than twice as much time on the golf course than Obama had at this point in his presidency.
“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the U.S., President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter,” Trump wrote in 2014.
Trump painted himself in 2016 while he ran for president as a contrast to Obama, claiming that if he were to be elected he wouldn’t visit his resorts, but would be focused on working in the White House.
“I love golf, but if I were in the White House, I don’t think I’d ever see Turnberry again. I don’t think I’d ever see Doral again,” he said, referring to two of his golf courses. “I don’t ever think I’d see anything. I just want to stay in the White House and work my ass off.”
While he hasn’t played golf this weekend, yet, if he does, he will have teed off 248 times. Three years into his presidency, Obama had played 92 times.
Trump recently ran up his taxpayer tab after hosting a lavish Super Bowl party at his resort, potentially costing taxpayers an additional $3.4 million, as The Inquisitr previously reported.
It isn’t just the amount of golf he is playing that has caused critics to lash out. Trump golfs at his own resorts, which means that some of the money that taxpayers pay to let him golf goes into his own pockets.
The exact amount of money that Trump may be making off of taxpayers isn’t clear because the White House hasn’t released information on how much the resorts bill, nor how many employees are staying at the resorts.
Recent studies have suggested that Trump is charging Secret Service agents $650 a night to stay at Mar-a-Lago. Taxpayers recently paid a $1,000 bar tab for White House employees at the resort.
All of this comes after Trump had pledged to voters that he would step back from his businesses, yet he remains the sole beneficiary of the trust that he placed his interests in when taking office.
“He promised during his campaign that he would separate himself from the Trump Organization should he win, but reneged on that pledge even before taking office,” the HuffPost notes.
