Trump Spending More on Travel in 2017 Than Obama in 8 Years
Remember when Trump would chastise President Barack Obama for golfing?
Well, Trump has already spent more than $21 million on travel so far in his presidency, which would outpace Obama’s entire 8-year travel budget by the end of 2017.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago costs taxpayers more than $6.6 million to protect since January.
Just one of Trump’s trips to the Florida club was close to $1 million.
In comparison, a similar trip Obama took to Florida in 2013 cost only $586,000. Almost half of what it cost Trump.
White House officials constantly try to defend Trump, saying he works wherever he goes.
“He is not vacationing when he goes to Mar-a-Lago. The president works nonstop every day of the week, no matter where he is,” a White House spokeswoman said in February.
Trump’s extravagant trips are also stretching the United States Coast Guard thin.
According to The Washington Post, “The Coast Guard spent more than $17.8 million on presidential security costs between October 2016 and March 2017.” That’s a $2.7 million increase from the same period one year earlier, and a $5.1 million jump from October 2015 to March 2016.
Additionally, the Coast Guard has been having financial issues, requiring $1.5 billion to catch up on maintenance on its existing equipment.
[image via Twitter]
