President Donald Trump had a lot to say about President Barack Obama’s vacations and his costs to American taxpayers. Yet a new report confirms that Trump’s travel costs—made more exorbitant because of his refusal to stay in the White House on weekends—is on track to far surpass those of Obama.
The Washington Post estimates that if the Trump family’s “elaborate lifestyle” continues at the clip it racked up during the first month of his presidency, he will spend hundreds of millions of dollars more than his predecessor.
The Post reports that Trump’s three trips to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida since the inauguration have cost approximately $10 million in travel, security and more. Obama spent roughly the same in travel ($12 million) for an entire year.
Because Trump has such a large family, their security adds to the astronomical costs as well.
The costs of guarding the Trump Tower in New York City, where the first lady, Melania Trump, and Trump’s youngest son, Barron live, is estimated to cost $183 million a year. New York Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer says that he wants the federal government to reimburse New York City and the state for these costs. The Post also reports that Eric Trump’s trip to Uruguay ran $100,000 in hotel fees for Secret Service personnel.
This is in addition to the $1.5 million a year to rent appropriate space for authorities in the Trump Tower, in case the Pentagon decides to prepare for the commander in chief’s possible return to his Manhattan residence.
Conversely, Obama’s travel expenses were calculated at about $97 million for his two terms in office.
Read more at the Washington Post.