by Itunuoluwa Adebo
President Trump’s trips to his luxury Florida resort are costing the Unite States a pretty penny, approximately at least $24 million (£19.2 million) which is roughly as much as Barack Obama spent on travel in the first two years of his presidency.
Trump has spent seven weekends at Mar-a-Lagos since he assumed office ten weeks ago. It is estimated that each of these trips costs at least $3 million (£2.4 million), including the President’s extensive security detail.
In total, ex president Obama’s travel bill over the eight years of his presidency came to $97 million (£78 million) – an average of $12.1 million (£9.7 million) a year. President Trump almost matched this figure in his first month – spending $10 million (£8 million) on three golfing holidays.
The cost of travel and security for the entire Trump family is also likely to be much higher, as the First Lady Melania and Trump’s youngest son, Barron, are remaining in New York until at least September. The New York Police Department has confirmed that it costs between $127,000 and $146,000 (£101,000 and £116,000) a day “to protect the First Lady and her son while they reside in Trump Tower”.
Before his inauguration, Trump regularly criticised Mr Obama for playing golf while holding office.
“Can you believe that, with all of the problems and difficulties facing the US, President Obama spent the day playing golf. Worse than Carter,” he tweeted in October 2014.
During a campaign rally last year, he said referring to playing golf. “I don’t ever think that I’d see anything, I just wanna stay in the White House and work my ass off, make great deals, right? Who’s gonna leave? I mean, who’s gonna leave?”
Leave a reply