President Trump’s frequent trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort since his inauguration have cost taxpayers an estimated $25 million [+3.6 mil tk as needed to factor in more travel]. Trump’s travel budget in 100 days now accounts for a quarter of the cost of President Obama’s travel in his entire eight years in office.
On Trump’s 100th day in office, he’s spent $250,000 [or TKTK more] a day on travel
President Obama spent $97 million on travel while he was in office. Trump is on pace to outspend him in less than one year.
The $25 million figure is calculated from an October 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, which estimated the cost of a presidential travel to Florida to be about $3.6 million per trip. That number includes only the expenses associated with the seven [or more tk] trips to Mar-a-Lago — which he’s dubbed the “winter White House” — Trump has taken since January 20th. It doesn’t factor in other costs, such as his adult sons’ recent trip to the United Arab Emirates to open the new Trump-branded golf resort and the associated Secret Service tab.
In April, the liberal Center for American Progress launched the website “Is Trump At Mar-a-Lago?,” which tracks Trump’s current location and reports whether he’s at his Florida resort or somewhere else. The site then estimates the cost of Trump’s trips, as well as suggests how else the money could be spent.
According to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, Obama’s travel costs during his eight years in office totaled about $97 million. If Trump maintains his current pace, he’ll outspend Obama in less than one year.
Trump, before he was president, was a vocal critic of Obama’s travel, frequently tweeting digs and appearing on Fox News to further publicize his critiques. And in his first formal interview following his election, Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes, “I don’t think we’ll be very big on vacations, no.”
Perhaps the stresses of the office have convinced him otherwise.
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