Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been busy cutting jobs via DOGE all in the name of wiping out wasteful government spending.
All the while though, Trump has been rolling up millions — close to $30 million at last count in March — playing golf on the taxpayers’ dime since he was sworn in on January 20.
Trump supporters argue that’s no big deal, and that the president should be allowed to blow off some steam and play some golf. Considering the messaging of the government and the context of it all, though, others take issue with spending so much to play a game.
Others such as Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett who slammed Trump for hypocrisy during a recent meeting of the House’s Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee.
“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,” Crockett said. “The last time I checked, we’re not getting anything in return for that. So, I will get back on my remarks, but I just wanted to point out that maybe we need to talk about the president and his golfing habits. He has decided that he wanted to play games while the rest of us are really trying to make sure that we can serve the American people.”
Trump spent an estimated $151.5 million of taxpayer money golfing across his first term so he is well on his way to blowing that total out of the water during this second term.
For those more concerned about how much it costs Americans for the president to play, the figures are from a 2019 Government Accountability Office report that examined Trump’s first four trips to Mar-a-Lago during his first administration. You can see the report, here. It calculated that each of those trips cost $3,383,250, and that was based on 2017 dollars, meaning that the actual cost today is likely higher than the estimate.
The costs involved with him golfing in Florida include flying in on Air Force One. Also, per the site, the military flies the vehicles for his motorcade in on C-17s each time he makes the trip. Also, because Mar-a-Lago, where Trump stays while he plays at his courses, is on the water, police boats with machine guns and a Coast Guard vessel have to be called in to patrol. The site said additional costs included law enforcement and bomb sniffing dogs.
—Brian Linder, pennlive.com (TNS)
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