President Donald Trump won another Golf Club Championship at his golf course in Palm Beach, Fla., over the weekend.
The president said it would “probably” be his last time competing for the championship.
If that’s the case, American taxpayers can probably breathe a sigh of relief.
Huff Post reported that Trump’s golf jaunts have cost U.S. taxpayers an eye-popping $18 million since Trump was sworn in for his second term in office on Jan. 20.
Across his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, Trump’s golf trips cost the federal treasury a staggering $151.5 million.
PennLive.com reported that Trump would “blow away” that old figure if he maintains his current golfing pace for his entire second term.
A 2019 Government Accountability Office report examined Trump’s first four trips to Mar-a-Lago during his first administration and calculated that each of those trips cost taxpayers $3,383,250.
With that figure based on 2017 dollars, the actual cost today is likely higher than the estimate.
There is a whole laundry list of costs associated with presidential travel, including Trump’s visits to Florida for golf.
That includes the expense of flying on Air Force One, as well as the cost to have the U.S. military fly the vehicles for the presidential motorcade on C-17s each time Trump makes the trip.
Because Mar-a-Lago, where Trump stays while he plays at his courses, is situated on the water, police boats with machine guns and a Coast Guard vessel have to be called in to patrol.
The report said that additional costs included law enforcement and bomb sniffing dogs.
The golf revelation comes amid Trump’s efforts to cut government waste and spending. He has deputized billionaire supporter Elon Musk to lead that effort via the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.