The US president often likes to shout about his golfing prowess, though many witnesses have questioned his actual ability (Picture: Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s second stint in the White House is starting to look quite a lot like his first. At least when it comes to golf, anyway.
His frequent trips to the course have now cost US taxpayers at least $101.2 million in travel and security, according to analysis by HuffPost.
That figure has been reached in just over 14 months, too. It already amounts to around two thirds of his entire first-term golf bill (which was sizeable enough). At this rate, the total could well climb towards $300 million by the end of his second term as POTUS.
His latest appearance at his West Palm Beach course came on Saturday morning. It marked his 56th visit there since his 2025 inauguration. It also brought up his 110th day playing golf during his 435 days in office.
That means he’s headed out on the course on more than a quarter of his days as president so far. Not exactly the odd quick nine after work, is it…?
The amount of time the president spends playing golf has been fiercely criticised (Picture: Getty Images)
The cost of those trips comes down to the sheer scale of the logistical operation that surrounds it. There’s very often Air Force One flights, transport planes and large security teams involved. And that all adds up.
Mar-a-Lago is the most expensive regular stop. Each visit costs about $3.4 million due to the need to secure both the Atlantic coast and the Intracoastal Waterway, HuffPost says. Armed boats patrol nearby and a Coast Guard vessel is stationed offshore.
Other locations are cheaper, though still far from being in bargain territory. Trips to Bedminster in New Jersey come in at around $1.1 million each. While visits to Trump’s Doral resort in Florida cost about $2.7 million a pop.
The president is rarely quiet, but you’d imagine he’s not particularly keen to discuss how his affection for 18 holes has cost the US taxpayer more than $100m in the past year alone (Picture: Getty Images)
The most expensive trip so far came overseas. A visit to Trump’s Scottish resorts last summer cost a whopping $9.7 million.
The figures used to calculate these costs are based on a Government Accountability Office report from his first term. That analysis found that four early 2017 trips to Mar-a-Lago cost $13.6 million in total.
The main drivers (pun intended) of those costs haven’t changed. Air Force One remains incredibly expensive to run. The same goes for transporting vehicles and maintaining full security coverage.
The figures also haven’t been adjusted for inflation, either. Wages for many of the personnel involved haven’t kept pace with rising prices. Even so, the real cost is likely higher than the numbers we’re talking about here.
POTUS likes big putts and he cannot lie (Picture: Getty Images)
During his first term, Trump took two years to reach $100 million in golf-related spending. He played 293 days at his own courses and cost taxpayers $151.5 million in total.
This time, he has passed the same mark far quicker. The pace has picked up, even if the routine hasn’t changed much.
The White House has recently begun listing these outings as ‘executive time’ in his public schedule.
When asked by the media what that actually involves, the press office responded with a short but not overly helpful statement: ‘Executive time refers to executive time.’
It takes a lot of balls to play golf as much as the 47th president of the United States does (Picture: Getty Images)
Critics have, understandable, taken aim at the spending. Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told HuffPost: ‘At a time when gas prices are spiking and Americans across the country find themselves in an ever-worsening affordability crisis, the president has burned through over $100 million in taxpayer money in order to make promotional appearances at his golf courses and hobnob with millionaires and billionaires.
‘If his goal were to help struggling Americans out, one thing he could try is stop spending their money going to his golf courses.’
Before entering office, Trump had been critical of Barack Obama for his golf habits.
During his 2016 campaign, he even said he wouldn’t have time to play golf because he would be too busy ‘working for you.’
The type of golfer who shoots a five, shouts ‘fore!’ and writes three? (Picture: Getty Images)
He later criticised Joe Biden for his trips home to Delaware. The criticism of both former presidents has continued despite the significant contrast in costs in theirs and his own.
Obama’s golf outings were far cheaper. He mainly played at Joint Base Andrews, a short journey from the White House.
Biden’s travel was also less expensive. His trips typically used smaller aircraft or Marine One helicopters rather than the larger Air Force One.
For now, the numbers keep ticking up. And while most golfers would be happy breaking 100, this is one total that’s already well past it.
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