President Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago have cost taxpayers an estimated $10 million

In just his first month in office, President Donald Trump has cost taxpayers almost $10 million in travel expenses, according to calculations from the Washington Post — meaning he’s on track to far exceed the amount President Obama’s travel cost in eight years.

The figure for Trump’s trips, calculated from an October 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimate of presidential travel costs to Florida, includes only the expenses associated with Trump’s three trips to Mar-a-Lago — which he’s dubbed the “winter White House” — since the inauguration. It doesn’t factor in other costs, such as his adult sons’ recent trip to the United Arab Emirates to open the new Trump-branded golf resort and the associated Secret Service tab.

According to the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, Obama’s travel costs during his eight years in office totaled about $97 million. If Trump maintains his current pace, he’ll outspend Obama in less than one year.

Trump, before he was president, was a vocal critic of Obama’s travel, frequently tweeting digs and appearing on Fox News to further publicize his critiques. And in his first formal interview following his election, Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes, “I don't think we'll be very big on vacations, no.”

Perhaps the stresses of the office have convinced him otherwise.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via