The staggering financial cost of Donald Trump's golf trips to the US taxpayer revealed in new report
Donald Trump's regular golfing trips have racked up an astronomical cost for US taxpayers, a report has disclosed.
Trump is in his second term as President after being sworn in back in January following a victory over Kamala Harris and though many things have changed in his current run in office, plenty have remained the same.
The 78-year-old, who owns a total of 16 courses, is still playing plenty of golf while in the White House hotseat and the costs are believed to be staggering.
It was estimated that the Trump's presidency totalled $151.5 million for spending 293 days on one of his courses but he could well be on course to beat that.
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According to a Huffington Post study, which used information on a 2019 Government Accountability Office report which focused on his first four trips during his first presidency, the Trump golf bill comes at a whopping $26,127,531.
When the outlet posted the report, Trump had spent 18 of his first 69 days in office on one of his golf courses, with 14 coming at his West Palm Beach resort.
Going off 2017 costs, which are lower than today's with inflation factored in, it works out more than $1.4 million per day on the golf course.
Trump's hefty bill comes while he has cut costs in a number of areas of government and appointed Tesla and X chief Elon Musk, the world's richest man, as the key individual in charge of a new department in charge.
The huge costs involve various expenses such as Trump and his staff flying for around two hours on Air Force One, which is believed to cost $200,000 per hour, according to Pentagon data.
In addition, there is also the requirement for patrolling law enforcement and explosive-sniffing dogs to be present as part of strict security measures put in place.
In terms of security, it has been reported that the overtime bill is a massive $240,000 (£186,156). Though Palm Beach county sheriff Ric Bradshaw didn't give a specific figure, he told The Guardian it is "expensive" but "we don't really have a choice".
With leaders from the rest of the world being hosted by Trump, he also admitted that there would be a "significant shift in the cost for security.”
Why Trump loves golf so much
Trump has 12 different courses in America alone and also two in Scotland, where his mother Mary MacLeod is from. He's played regularly for decades and his Mar-a-Lago resort has an insane membership fee of $1 million after a monumental fee hike last year.
Though he has no time for slow play on the course and will kick people out for it, Trump says he plays the sport because it brings "tremendous value" for him.
"I often get asked why did I get involved in golf," he told Today's Golfer.
"Well, I have friends that are very successful people and they love to garden. And I like to garden too – just in a much bigger way.
"I also love tremendous acreage. When you have 600 acres on the ocean overlooking Catalina Island in Los Angeles, there’s a tremendous value there for me."
Topics: Donald Trump, Golf
Josh Lawless