Vacation Time! Trump Finally Gets Some Time Off (But We Still Have to Pay)
Remember that time when then-candidate Donald Trump told the world he wouldn’t take vacations and barely leave the White House because of all the work that needed to be done? Well, Trump just wrapped up a 17-day vacation at one of his golf courses in New Jersey [1]. Everyone deserves a vacation, especially during the dog days of August, right? Even the leader of free world needs to take some personal time. The thing is, though… This leader has been taking an awful lot of personal time during his seven months in office. Like, a lot.
The numbers are staggering. Believable and expected, but still crazy to think he can get away with it. Amazingly, Trump has been in office for 213 days. That’s right, we’ve already made it 213 days (I don’t want to jinx it). Of those 213, Trump has spent 75 of those days at Trump properties and 58 at Trump golf courses [2]. Dude, imagine getting a huge promotion that you didn’t actually deserve, then taking two of your first six months off? That’s the life…
President Trump is an avid golfer. He seems to golf more than he does anything else actually. He owns plenty of private courses and spends time there quite often. Despite his repeated criticism of former President Obama, Trump has officially played more golf than Tiger Woods this year. Fifty-three times since February, when he took his first step onto the course a mere two weeks after his inauguration [3]. He has spent over 600 hours golfing, or the equivalent of 25 days!
Let’s talk about this month’s actual vacation, not to be confused with every other weekend that Trump leaves D.C. for golf. About two and half weeks ago, the White House released a statement calling the Trump’s 17-day getaway a “working vacation.” No shit, we know the president can’t completely escape work. So, essentially, just a vacation. After some finger pointing and name calling, Trump made a point to tweet that he was at meetings and taking calls instead of vacationing. Thanks. Those meetings didn’t keep him off the green though, as he managed to golf every single day of his vacation.
We all know that Trump is doing a lot of things that he not only said he wouldn’t, but strongly criticized his predecessor for doing. That’s not new at all. But what about the costs associated with these getaways? Let’s just say that Trump isn’t paying for it, like at all.
Travel costs are wearing down on most Americans and their families. Plane tickets, hotels, and gas are getting pricier and pricier every summer. Not for the Trump family, however. In fact, this summer has been the best year for free travel for America’s first family. Donald Trump has taken 15 trips to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida compound, and Bedminster, his New Jersey hideout for the last 17 days. The trips he has taken to these locations alone bear a total cost of almost $21 million on American taxpayers. These don’t include flights elsewhere or even the additional costs once the president is at his destination.
A growing concern for Trump’s travel is the security and personnel costs. Remember how Melania Trump spent the first five months of Trump’s presidency in New York’s Trump Tower? Just keeping security for Melania and youngest son, Barron, cost New York City $145,000 PER DAY. The millions don’t stop there though.
Traditionally, the president’s immediate and extended family is under protection of the Secret Service. Thousands of agents travel with the family members and the president wherever they go. Wherever the Trumps decide to vacation, travel internationally to promote their brand, or whenever the president needs to get away from that “D.C. grind,” the Secret Service and local police are there spending millions in taxpayer money.
The Director of the Secret Service told USA Today that more than 1,000 agents have already reached salary and bonus caps that were supposed to last all year [4]. Yup, Trump is outpacing every president in security expenses. President Barack Obama had 31 members until security detail, Trump has a total of 42. Without a federal budget increase, the Secret Service is running out of agents to protect the First Family. These costs are hurting Americans, those paying financially and those paying with their lives.
Taxpayers are paying for President Trump to vacation and play golf all day. And when he’s not, they’re overspending on protecting his rich family. Of course, President Trump is to blame. This problem only adds to the long list of examples that Donald Trump is in way over his head and is only using the presidency. Long story short, the Trump family and the president himself are using taxpayer money to travel to, stay at, and overall promote Trump businesses and properties. If only someone warned us about this guy years ago…
Written By: CJ Wilcox (@CJWilcox7)
1: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/347299-trumps-eventful-working-vacation
2: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/how-much-time-trump-spending-trump-properties-n753366
3: http://trumpgolfcount.com/displayoutings
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