Trump's spending in 1 month is 'less' than Obama's in... 1 year

Taxpayers spent $11.3 million on travel for new US President Donald Trump and his family in his first month in office.

On the morning of February 20, President Donald Trump returned to Washington, DC after a weekend at his private residence Mar-a-Lago in Florida, where he has rested every weekend since taking office.Washington PostIt is estimated that those three trips each weekend “could cost the federal budget about $10 million.

Since taking office, President Trump has spent every weekend at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, instead of staying at the White House. Photo: AP.

The newspaper relied on figures from an October 2016 government report to analyze White House travel expenses, which include the cost of Coast Guard patrols and other forces such as security, military, and Secret Service deployed to ensure the president's safety.

According to the newspaperIndependentThe British government, three vacations at Mar-a-Lago, and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on secret service protection for Mr. Trump's two eldest sons traveling abroad to develop their father's business empire cost the taxpayer $11.3 million. In contrast, according to the newspaper, former President Barack Obama spent an average of only $12.1 million on travel each year.

The irony is that just a year ago, during his campaign, Mr. Trump complained that taxpayers “are paying a lot of money for Air Force One” for presidential travel. It was a message that Mr. Trump repeated many times during President Obama’s term.

Mr. Trump did not keep his word.

Mr Trump's decision to spend three consecutive weekends at his "Southern White House" completely contradicts what the billionaire promised during his election campaign: he would "rarely leave the White House".

Sharing with the press in 2015, Mr. Trump said: "I will rarely leave the White House because there is so much work to do. I will not be a president who knows how to rest because there will be no time to rest."

Furthermore, while he repeatedly criticized his predecessor Barack Obama for playing golf while in office, during his weekend vacation in Florida on February 19, President Trump himself enjoyed his 6th round of golf in just the first month of his presidency.

In addition, the fact that First Lady Melania Trump did not move into the White House but decided to continue staying at Trump Tower in New York also created an additional burden on taxpayers. According to the Washington Post, the police estimated that the cost of security at this tower could be up to 183 million USD per year.

The Trump family benefits from all these tax payments.

To have regular access to Commander-in-Chief Trump, the US military is forced to rent space in Trump Tower with taxpayer money, at an estimated cost of up to $1.5 million a year. Of course, this money goes into the pockets of Mr. Trump's family.

Moving nearly all law enforcement to Mar-a-Lago every weekend has boosted the club's profits and prompted people to pay up to $200,000 for membership.

While Mr. Trump spent millions of taxpayer dollars on travel in his first month in office, his team has released a budget proposal that cuts spending on cultural institutions and important services for the poor.

NewspaperNew York TimesThe proposal would eliminate long-standing payors such as the Public Broadcasting Corporation (CPB), the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), and the Arts and Humanities Grants Association, most of which cost less than $500 million a year, the report said.

According to VOV