July 14, 2018

Trump Has Already Spent 30 Percent of His Days as President at Trump Properties

This weekend’s Scottish golf trip comes after scores of taxpayer-supported stateside hotel and resort visits.

Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

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If nothing else, President Donald Trump seems to know how to relax. After yet another week of pissing off international allies, the New York Times reports that he’s spending the weekend at Trump Turnberry, his luxury resort in Scotland, which means that he’s now spent 169 days of his presidency, or about 30 percent of days, hanging out at his branded properties—all at a staggering cost to U.S. taxpayers.

Here’s a graphic from the New York Times’ Karen Yourish:

It’s no surprise that Mar-a-Lago tops the list, with Trump having paid 72 visits to his Palm Beach resort since taking office. Those trips aren’t cheap: in 2017 alone, taxpaying Americans shelled out more than $6.6 million in airfare alone, not including the costs of protection from Secret Service and Coast Guard officers. As a candidate and private citizen, Trump regularly berated President Barack Obama for his golf and vacation habits.

In addition to the U.S. government’s expenses, Scottish police have estimated security for Trump’s weekend golf visit could involve 5,000 police officers, and cost U.K. taxpayers $6.6 million.

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It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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