The president, who is a keen sportsman, also has 12 Trump Golf-owned properties in the United States
President Donald Trump has allegedly spent a hefty amount of taxpayers’ money on improving his sporting capabilities since returning to office earlier this year.
Since being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, Donald Trump, 78, has made headlines with a series of bold and controversial moves.
His presidency began with a chaotic White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He then stirred controversy by renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and appointing Elon Musk to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump has declared his victory over Democratic opponent Kamala Harris as a ‘mandate’ and has expressed willingness to release a ‘suspicious’ report on assassination attempts against him. Adding to the controversy, he recently signed an executive order establishing a Bitcoin reserve.
Amidst the political storm, Trump has managed to squeeze in 13 rounds of golf in his first 48 days in office.
According to an Independent report, Donald Trump’s frequent golfing continues to come at a significant cost to taxpayers.
The businessman, who famously described golf as a ‘passion’ rather than just a game, owns 12 Trump Golf properties across the United States, plus courses in Scotland, Ireland, and the UAE. Since returning to Washington, D.C., Trump has played ten rounds at his private Trump International West Palm Beach and three rounds at Trump Doral.
Trump Doral is an expansive 800-acre resort near Miami International Airport, while Trump International West Palm Beach boasts a scenic 27-hole course just minutes from the Atlantic coastline.
Trump’s golf habits have long faced scrutiny. Back in 2019, The Washington Post estimated his frequent Florida golf trips could total $64 million in taxpayer costs. However, by October 2020, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich revealed that the true figure had soared to $141 million — more than double the initial prediction.
Reich remarked at the time:
“Once again, Trump brags about donating his $400,000 presidential salary. Somehow he forgot to mention that his golf trips have cost taxpayers $141,000,000.”
In one particularly costly instance in 2018, a single weekend spent in Scotland racked up over $1 million in expenses, according to The Committee on Oversight and Accountability Democrats.
With Trump’s 13 rounds of golf this year alone, questions are once again being raised about the financial burden on American taxpayers.
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According to HuffPost, figures from a 2019 Government Accountability Office report suggest that Donald Trump’s frequent golf trips have likely cost American taxpayers over $18 million.
Trump and his entourage are believed to travel to his Florida golf courses aboard Air Force One, adding to the expenses. Additional costs are incurred for security, including law enforcement patrols and explosive-sniffing dogs.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, March 8, authorities confirmed they were investigating an act of vandalism at Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland. According to the BBC, a pro-Palestinian group defaced part of a building with red paint and sprayed the message “Gaza is not for sale” across one of the greens.
A spokesperson for Trump Turnberry condemned the act as a “childish, criminal act”, describing the course as a “national treasure” and reaffirming its status as a “beacon of luxury and excellence in the world of golf.”
