Donald Trump is many things, but frugal is apparently not one of them. Much fuss has been made over the fact that $423,000 in donor dollars went to pay his own Mar-a-Lago resort for two parties and a news conference in March — and what's more, he could have saved several thousand dollars if he had booked a different venue instead, The Huffington Post reports: "Had Trump instead chosen to hold those events at the nearby West Palm Beach Marriott, he likely would have spent no more than $45,000 for [all three events], based on its estimates for catering the number of people who attended his parties."
A similar situation occurred in New York, The Huffington Post explains:
Instead of spending $48,000 at his club in Westchester County, New York, Trump could have used a ballroom at the Westchester Marriott 9 miles away. The likely cost there: approximately $20,000, said that hotel's director of catering. [The Huffington Post]
And while Trump pays $90 to $120 per square foot in Trump Tower, offices elsewhere in Midtown cost closer to $70 per square foot. If Trump had set up shop in Queens or Brooklyn, that cost could be as low as $32 per square foot — which is what Hillary Clinton pays in Brooklyn Heights.
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Florida strategist Rick Wilson told The Huffington Post he didn't think Republican donors understood the extent of Trump's self-indulgent splurges. "I think they're only vaguely aware. It's Putinesque," he said.
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