Taxpayers to Foot Massive Bill for Trump Family Travels

And some of that money will be going into the president's pockets
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 18, 2017 11:21 AM CST
Taxpayers to Foot Massive Bill for Trump Family Travels
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. pose for a photo during festivities marking the formal opening of the Trump International Golf Club, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday Feb. 18, 2017.   (AP Photo)

A few years ago, President Trump called then-President Obama's travel expenses "unbelievable," ABC News reports. According to the Washington Post, those expenses were estimated at $97 million over eight years. Trump and his family are on pace to exceed that total in just seven months, and taxpayers are footing the bill, New York Magazine reports. It starts with the president himself. Despite once promising he would "rarely leave the White House," Trump is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago for the third week in a row. Those three trips are estimated to have cost the US Treasury about $10 million. And the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office says it pays $60,000 in overtime for every day Trump is at his golf resort.

But it doesn't end with the president. New York City is paying $500,000 per day for security at Trump Tower, where Melania Trump and Barron are living, and estimates it will spend more than $180 million per year. Meanwhile, Trump's adults sons and their Secret Service detail are in the United Arab Emirates for a Trump-brand golf course opening this weekend. A similar trip to Uruguay recently cost the Secret Service and US Embassy nearly $100,000. All told, the Trump family's "unusually elaborate lifestyle" is expected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years—far more than is typical for presidents. And some of that money will go directly to Trump himself, as he hasn't divested from his businesses. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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