How much is President Donald Trump's golf habit costing the United States and the American taxpayer?
We're starting to get a window into some of the costs associated with Trump's weekend trips to some of his 17 worldwide golf properties, including Trump International Golf Club near his estate club at Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Golf Club in Northern Virginia, across the Potomac River from the White House.
The Secret Service has spent $16k so far on golf cart rentals for Trump trips to Mar-a-Lago. pic.twitter.com/Pgje6S1LBh
— Nathaniel Meyersohn (@nmeyersohn) March 26, 2017
CNN reported March 27 that the Secret Service has spent some $16,000 ($16,685) to be exact on golf cart rentals for their detail to protect the President. Three separate payments were made to Golf Car & Utility Vehicle Distributors LLC of Miami for the supply of the cart rentals.
These figures have now more than doubled to over $35,000 as of April 16, according to CBS News.
These cart rentals may not have necessarily been to trail Trump while he was on the golf course. Rather, they could have been to keep tabs on Trump and other important figures while on Mar-a-Lago property, which has been described by some security experts as a "nightmare" for Secret Service to protect.
A running tally of Trump visits to Trump-branded golf courses. Here is my do-it-yourself graphic. Read story too: https://t.co/aVq4ruG7hG pic.twitter.com/87TRMvWJAy
— Eric Lipton (@EricLiptonNYT) March 27, 2017
Of course, this is just a small cost of Trump's travels to Mar-a-Lago and Trump National in Virginia. The costs associated with flying Air Force One, which can run into seven figures, should be applied as well.
This is part of leisure as President: spending lots of money to protect the Commander-in-Chief. Barack Obama racked up costs for Secret Service protection as well in his rounds of golf and vacations.
