WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Taxpayers have now shelled out practically $71 million for President Donald Trump’s golf passion since he retook workplace in January, together with his second-term complete on tempo to interrupt $300 million, in keeping with a HuffPost evaluation.
His go to to his course adjoining to the Palm Seaside County jail Wednesday was on his sixteenth journey to his Mar-a-Lago nation membership dwelling 4 miles away. Every of these journeys price $3.4 million in journey and safety bills.
If he makes simply two extra journeys to Mar-a-Lago in December — he made 4 in November, together with the one over Halloween weekend — his golf bills will prime $75 million in 2025. On that tempo, he would exceed $300 million over this four-year time period.
In distinction, he spent $151.5 million of taxpayer cash in golf-related journey and safety bills throughout his first time period.
“I really wish I could tell you that it would make anyone in America change their mind about him, but the corruption is so baked in, so endemic, and so ludicrous that it feels like the collective reaction will be a shrug,” stated longtime Republican advisor Rick Wilson, now a Trump critic. “It’s one more example of Trump defining the presidency down. Way, way down.”
Along with the journeys to Mar-a-Lago — which has no golf course of its personal, however is near his programs in West Palm Seaside and Jupiter — Trump has made 9 journeys to his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, which price about $1.1 million every; and a visit to advertise a brand new course he opened at his resort in Aberdeen, Scotland. That price taxpayers practically $10 million.
In all, his golf journeys have price Individuals $70.8 million in journey and safety bills so far in 2025.
HuffPost makes use of in its evaluation price estimates derived from a 2019 Authorities Accountability Workplace report on Trump’s journeys to Mar-a-Lago early in his first time period. As a result of the majority of the bills are salaries for army service members and regulation enforcement officers, which usually haven’t stored tempo with the patron worth index, these figures will not be inflated to present {dollars}. Nonetheless, the precise prices and totals are virtually actually greater than HuffPost’s unadjusted 2019 numbers.
Mar-a-Lago journeys create significantly costly safety challenges. It sits on the barrier island with the Intracoastal Waterway to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. When Trump visits, small boats with machine weapons on their bow patrol the waterway whereas Coast Guard ships cruise offshore.
The only largest expense, although, is Air Pressure One. The modified Boeing 747 Trump makes use of to journey from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Palm Seaside Worldwide Airport prices $273,063 per hour to fly, the GAO report discovered, which means every four-hour spherical journey prices Individuals $1.1 million.
His journeys to his course in Bedminster are far cheaper ― $1.1 million, fairly than $3.4 million ― as a result of the close by airport can not accommodate a 747. Trump as a substitute flies the smaller, far cheaper modified 757.
That cheaper fee can be why former President Joe Biden’s frequent journeys to Wilmington and Rehoboth Seaside, Delaware, price taxpayers far much less cash than Trump’s golf outings. The airport runway in Wilmington can be too quick for a 747, so Biden used the smaller 757 or Marine One helicopters to get there and again.
Former President Barack Obama, who performed golf steadily, however additionally spent far much less on that passion than Trump as a result of he performed the vast majority of his rounds on the course at Joint Base Andrews.
Trump has by no means performed golf on that course, however did take an aerial tour of it on Saturday aboard Marine One. That survey price taxpayers roughly $115,000, based mostly on the quantity calculated by the GAO in 2019. It’s not included in HuffPost’s $70.8 million total golf complete.
Previous to his first election in 2016, Trump promised that, not like Obama, he wouldn’t play golf as president. “I love golf, but if I were in the White House, I don’t think I’d ever see Turnberry again. I don’t think I’d ever see Doral again,” he informed rallygoers that February, referring to his programs in Scotland and South Florida. “I don’t ever think I’d see anything. I just want to stay in the White House and work my ass off.”
Trump broke that promise inside days of taking workplace, although, and thru the top of that time period, performed golf on certainly one of his programs on 293 days.
Wednesday’s outing on his West Palm Seaside course was his twenty ninth day there since returning to workplace and his 82nd day on a course he owns.
