His breaks have been slammed as a drain on resources – from his private jet flights via Air Force One, and the added cargo jets and motorcades, to the extra burden on the Secret Service and local Palm Beach authorities for his security.
Under that umbrella, local law enforcement has been forking out overtime pay and the associated costs with deploying helicopters and increasing its manpower on the ground, all to protect the president, his family and his entourage while they dabble at his favorite pastime.
Now, it’s been revealed Trump’s out of office expeditions costs the American taxpayer a pretty penny, with the figures dropping just after he ranted about ‘too many non-working holidays’ for employees.
According to Marca, it’s estimated his leisure trips have cost the public a whopping $26 million by late March alone – and almost nearly $30 million in early April.
Meanwhile, fuelling, staffing and jetting off in Air Force One is said to cost near $200,000, according to a 2022 air force assessment, with reports that the two-hour flight time from Washington DC to Palm Beach international airport costs the taxpayer about a million dollars every time – just in travel.
The eye-watering costs come as the president appeared to hypocritically claim businesses closing up shop for vacations is draining the public purse.
He wrote: “Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed.
“The workers don’t want it either! Soon we’ll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Yet many accuse the president of being one major drain on the US economy.
“If we are gonna talk about efficiency… let’s talk about the fact that, as of March 30, Trump’s golfing has cost us approximately $26 million,” Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett pointed out in a House subcommittee hearing in April. “The last time I checked, we’re not getting anything in return for that.”
She also highlighted that a luxurious golfing weekend can run up a bill of around $3.4 million and one specific trip soared to $4.2 million due to additional helicopter transport from Miami International.
In Trump’s first term, it was estimated his Mar-a-Lago trips cost an average $13.6 million per weekend, according to the Government Accountability Office, which doesn’t include the $240,000 in overtime pay for Palm Beach County officers.
Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, told county commissioners in February that the task is ‘substantial,’ adding: “They request it, and then we provide it. It’s expensive, but we don’t really have a choice.”
After having an ‘urgent request’ of $45 million approved for additional security for Trump last November, Bradshaw said he thinks the invoice will continue to rise.
“We’ve already heard some information where he may be spending more time here than in Washington,” the sheriff said at the time. “Definitely you’re going to see him bringing in leaders from the world. That is a significant shift in the cost for security.”
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