Donald Trump has reportedly spent almost $11 million of taxpayer money funding his golfing hobby since returning to office, despite his and Elon Musk’s ongoing war on wasteful spending by government agencies.
Since being sworn in for the second time on January 20, the president has spent all four weekends on the green, and played golf at his own properties on nine of his first 30 days in office, according to HuffPost.
Based on a 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office, HuffPost has calculated that the cost of these excursions has been around $10.7 million.
It comes after Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency continue to take aim at various federal agencies, reducing both staff and items in the budget labelled as “fraud.” However, none of DOGE’s social media posting has mentioned the word “golf” or the president’s recreational trips, according to HuffPost.
HuffPost’s calculations were made by breaking down the costs of Trump’s first trips to Mar-a-Lago during his first term, with the GAO estimating that each trip cost $3,383,250.
Roughly one-third of the figure was the round-trip flight cost of Air Force One, with additional expenses for flying down vehicles, including two presidential limousines and Trump’s motorcade.
According to the GAO, the Coast Guard was also paid for stationing a gunship in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast and heavily armed boats in the Intracoastal Waterway.
HuffPost acknowledged that the costs in the report were based on 2017 dollars and were likely somewhat higher today due to inflation.
Three of the president’s four weekend trips have been to his course in West Palm Beach during his Mar-a-Lago visits, and another to his Miami Doral resort. However, HuffPost has reduced the overall costs of the trips due to them including flights that were for official White House business.
“It’s clear that when the Trump administration considers the definition of corruption and wasteful spending, it doesn’t count spending that ends up in the president’s pockets,” Jordan Libowitz, from watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told HuffPost.
“By visiting his for-profit businesses roughly a third of his days in office, Trump is directing government spending to follow him there, and profiting off the trip.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment about the estimated costs of the president’s golf trips.
According to previous reporting by HuffPost analysts, Trump’s golfing trip bill for his first term, including taxpayer-funded travel and security, totaled $151.5 million, and a total some 293 days at his own resorts, despite claiming during his 2016 campaign that he would not have time for a vacation at all.
“I just want to stay in the White House and work my a** off,” he said in February 2016.
