According to a HuffPost analysis, Mr Trump’s latest visit, on Wednesday, marked his 16th trip to Mar-a-Lago this year, with each trip costing $3.4m in travel and security. If Mr Trump makes two more trips to Mar-a-Lago in December, his 2025 golf costs would surpass $75m, putting his total for the term over $300m.
During his first term, Mr Trump spent $151.5m in taxpayer-funded golf travel and security.
Besides Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump made nine trips to his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf resort, about $1.1m each, and one trip to his Aberdeen, Scotland course, costing nearly $10m in taxpayer funds.
HuffPost’s analysis relies on cost estimates from a 2019 Government Accountability Office report on Mr Trump’s first-term Mar-a-Lago trips. Most of the costs come from military and law enforcement salaries, which haven’t kept up with inflation, so the figures aren’t adjusted to current dollars. Still, the real costs are almost certainly higher.
The Independent contacted the White House for comment.
Mr Trump’s known passion for the game is so widely recognised that foreign leaders have brought him golf-related gifts.
In October, Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi gifted Mr Trump a gold-leaf golf ball and tee set, along with a golf club once used by the late prime minister Shinzo Abe. In May, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa brought golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen to the White House in an attempt to ease tensions.
Mar-a-Lago trips are costly due to extensive security, including armed boats and Coast Guard patrols, with the biggest expense being Air Force One, which costs $1.1m per four-hour round trip.
In contrast, former president Joe Biden’s trips to Wilmington, Delaware, and Rehoboth Beach cost far less than Mr Trump’s golf trips because he used smaller aircraft or helicopters.
