Trump makes a big show out of donating his $400,000, but each of his trips to Mar-a-Lago cost taxpayers $3.4 million.
Trump’s donated salary does not make up for his vacation trips to Florida
According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research:
The chart relies on a GAO study that calculated that four Trump visits cost the government $13.6 million in extra expenses or $3.4 million per weekend. The calculation in the graph assumes that he makes 26 trips a year, one every other week.
Trump boasts that he donates his salary to the govt. @DeanBaker13 compares the cost of his fancy travel and security costs to his $400,000/yr salary. https://t.co/Nz2JLrgQxK pic.twitter.com/3R4HT0WY7W
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— CEPR (@ceprdc) May 5, 2019
Every year, Trump costs the taxpayers an additional $88.4 million a year in travel and security costs.
The Taxpayers Would Be Better Off If Trump Took His Salary And Stayed Home
These numbers are only the extra expenses that are associated with his trips to his club in Florida. Trump also racks up additional expenses when he goes to his club in New Jersey, or when he visits his properties overseas. The numbers do not include the associated costs that come with the travel of Trump wife and kids. The Trump administration has been living large on the taxpayers’ dime.
Trump staff have held private drinking parties at Mar-a-Lago and sent taxpayers the bill, which was paid to Donald Trump.
The American people would better off is Trump took the four hundred grand and spent his weekends at home.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association