While not the most consequential unkept pledge of Trump’s presidency, it could be considered the most flagrant. In August 2016, Donald Trump addressed a crowd in northern Virginia, where he made a straightforward yet earnest promise. As president, he said, “I’m going to be working for you. I’m not going to have time to play golf.”
President Donald Trump has racked up up a hefty golf bill since taking office, costing taxpayers an extra $102 million in travel and security expenses.
The president has played golf at his Florida courses 24 times, incurring a cost of $81 million to taxpayers, as reported by a Huffington Post analysis published on Wednesday.
Another $17 million was spent for his 15 trips to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, $1 million for a visit to his resort in Los Angeles.
In July 2018, a minimum of $3 million was allocated for a two-day trip to the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Nearly half of this expenditure was designated for rental car expenses required for the president’s entourage during his overseas trips.
Trump, a keen golf enthusiast, awarded golf legend Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom following his remarkable comeback victory at the Masters last month.
The over $100 million in golf expenses is expected to increase substantially with Trump’s scheduled visit to his club in Doonbeg, Ireland next month, which, the analysis says will garner a seven-figure bill.
Trump is making his stop in Ireland as part of his scheduled June trip to Europe.
The White House revealed on Tuesday that he would be embarking on a trip to England and France to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Later in the day Tuesday the White House said that Trump would be meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Shannon, Ireland, just a few dozen miles from the Doonbeg resort.
According to a CNN report, the president expressed a desire to meet with Varadkar at his resort, but the Irish government deemed it inappropriate.
‘Protocol dictates that any event they host for President Trump should be at a venue of their choosing and certainly not at an hotel owned by Trump.’ a source said of the Irish government, according to CNN. ‘It is a bit unseemly to demand that the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) host President Trump at his hotel.’
Trump and other Republicans often criticized former President Barack Obama for golfing.
At the same point in his first term, the current president has spent twice as many days on the golf course as Obama did. Trump’s preference for trips to New Jersey and Florida to play at his resorts has resulted in three times the cost to taxpayers compared to Obama’s golf outings.
Trump volunteered not take the presidential salary, saving taxpayers $400,000 per year, but he has spent 255 times that amount on golf outings.
The cost is also three times the amount Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation cost taxpayers, which summated to more than $12.2 million.
