President Donald Trump's retreat to the "Winter White House" begins Friday, and his three-day stay could cost taxpayers more than $3 million, Politico reports. The trip to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's luxury resort in Florida, will see Trump reuniting with his wife Melania and conducting meetings and phone calls related to his presidency.
The $3 million price tag comes from estimates about one of President Barack Obama's trips in 2013 to Palm Beach, which was for about the same duration as Trump's upcoming stay. Politico reports "the cost of the 2013 trip for the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, was $3.6 million, the [Government Accountability Office] found."
When Obama was in office, Trump was one of the president's loudest critics, slamming Obama as a "habitual vacationer" and complaining that he was "costing taxpayers millions of dollars" with his retreats.
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There are "real costs" of Trump "going back and forth" between Trump Tower, the White House, and Mar-a-Lago, said Tom Fitton, president of the conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch. "I hope [Trump] reflects on the costs of doing that and sees if there's any savings to be achieved,” Fitton told Politico. "He should check out Camp David and see if he can make better use of that."
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