Trump’s Mar-a-Lago madness continues as millions in costs are directly paid for by the average American taxpayer
Florida – Taxpayers are paying a huge and quickly expanding expense for President Donald Trump’s love of golf. A new analysis says that the cost of his trips has already gone up to over $71 million this year alone. If things keep going at this rate, the final number might go above $300 million when his term ends. The numbers reflect a spending pattern that doesn’t seem to be slowing down and is much higher than the expense of presidential golf excursions in the past.
The number comes from an analysis of data collected by HuffPost, which determined that Trump had gone to Mar-a-Lago 16 times since January. Each trip to the private club costs about $3.4 million and takes a lot of planning for travel and security. His travel plans show that even a few more visits in December may put his total expenditure for the year over $75 million, which would put him on track to spend more than anyone else.
These costs are just a small part of a much greater total. Taxpayers spent $151.5 million on Trump’s golf-related travel and protection during his first four years in office. His second term has increased that number up a lot, mostly because he goes back to Florida frequently and travels to his other courses more. For example, each of the nine trips to Bedminster, New Jersey, cost an average of $1.1 million. The same study says that an additional trip to his course in Aberdeen, Scotland, cost around $10 million.
The underlying cost estimates come from a 2019 analysis by the Government Accountability Office of Trump’s early-term travel. It looks at unadjusted costs related to law enforcement staffing, military assistance, and aircraft use. The real cost is probably far higher than what is now being predicted because such calculations don’t take into account inflation or rising operational costs.
Trump’s way of doing diplomacy includes playing golf with foreign leaders and political friends. This is a mix of fun and cultivating relationships. He has used the sport in his meetings with world leaders in a clear way, from giving gifts to heads of state who come to visit to playing private games to solidify relationships. His most recent health check additionally indicated that golf was a sign of an active lifestyle.
The public continue to look closely at how much money is being spent. Former caddies who said the president sometimes broke the laws of the game have made people more interested in his time on the fairway. And even though Barack Obama and Joe Biden, among others, went golfing as president, their trips were usually cheaper since they traveled shorter distances and utilized smaller planes.
Trump has spent a lot of time on the golf course, even though he has said negative things about how presidents play golf in the past. He played golf for about 300 days during his first term, and his current rate of travel suggests that he may soon surpass an unprecedented milestone, which will be paid for directly by the average American.
