Trump's trips to his own golf courses have cost taxpayers $115 million, nearly 287 years of presidential salary: Report
President Donald Trump's golf hobby has reportedly cost American taxpayers an estimated $115 million in travel and security expenses, according to reports. The amount is equivalent to nearly 287 years of presidential salary, which Trump frequently mentions he does not take.
Of that amount, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have gone into his own cash registers as the White House staff, Secret Service agents, and other administration officials generally stay and eat at his hotels and golf courses, according to the Huffington Post.
Trump prefers to take trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for golfing. The outlet reported that the exact amount of his golf trips cannot be determined because the White House has refused to reveal how many Trump aides stay at his properties during such visits and how much are they charged at his resorts.
ProPublica discovered last year that Mar-a-Lago charged $546 a night for rooms, nearly three times the per-diem rate and the maximum allowed by federal rules, for at least 24 Trump administration officials who stayed there during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit in 2017.
Reports state that taxpayers also picked up a $1,006.60 bar tab for 54 top shelf drinks ordered by White House staff.
Trump, as of Wednesday, has spent 225 days at a golf course that he owns, which according to the outlet's estimates, amounts to nearly $2.3 million in taxpayer money for Secret Service's stay at Trump's businesses.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Jordan Libowitz, said of the president: "It’s becoming abundantly clear that Donald Trump uses his presidency as a way to put money into his pocket. The issue isn’t that he likes golf. The issue is that he has spent a huge amount of his presidency making promotional appearances at his struggling golf courses, and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill."
Trump consistently slammed former President Barack Obama for playing golf frequently during his terms. However, reports state that when compared to this point in Obama's first term, Trump has already spent two and a half times as many golfing days as Obama, with the former president playing majority of his rounds at courses on military bases within a short drive of the White House.