In a letter to New York City's members of Congress, New York Police Department Commissioner James O’Neill said the “unique and unparalleled” challenge of having police and fire officials protect President Donald Trump’s family, home and office for the 75 days between Election Day and Inauguration Day comes to a cost of $25.7 million, down from an earlier estimate of $35 million.
Going forward, O’Neill said he expects the NYPD to spend between $127,000 and $146,000 per day protecting First Lady Melania Trump and her son, Barron, while they reside in Manhattan, on top of an additional $4.5 million in expenses annually for the Fire Department of New York going forward.
Those costs, O’Neill said in the letter dated Feb. 21, will “increase significantly” whenever the president is in New York City. Trump has not visited New York City since moving into the White House on Jan. 20.
New York is not the only place feeling the burden of financing Trump's expensive presidency.
Courtesy of Pop Sugar:
During his first month as president, Trump has spent three weekends at what he has dubbed "The Southern White House" — also known as the golf club he owns, Mar-a-Lago. The Washington Post estimates those three trips have cost the federal treasury approximately $10 million — which doesn't include West Palm Beach's municipal costs that the county plans to request federal reimbursement for.
Comparatively, conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch reported that Obama's administration spent an average of $12.1 million a year for travel. If Trump continues to spend weekends at Mar-a-Lago, he will spend taxpayer's money at a rate exponentially higher than Obama did. On top of the cost to protect Trump while he is in Florida, the federal government also has to foot the bill for protecting him and his family in New York City.
According to The Guardian, securing Trump Tower has cost the city nearly $500,000 a day — which would total nearly $183 million a year. The Defense Department and Secret Service have also reportedly attempted to rent space in Trump Tower, meaning that taxpayer money might actually line Trump's pockets. Trump's time in New York City could be viewed as a personal trip and compounds the already high expense it costs to protect the president. The Washington Post also reported that Eric Trump's recent business trip to Uruguay cost the government $100,000 in hotel fees.
And let's not forget that Trump used to constantly complain about how much the Obama presidency was costing the taxpayers.
Hypocrisy much?We pay for Obama's travel so he can fundraise millions so Democrats can run on lies. Then we pay for his golf.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2014
I do not think it is in any way an exaggeration to suggest that this will be the most expensive presidency in history, and in fact might remain so for decades to come.
And it is simply NOT necessary.
If Trump wanted to he could save the country multiple millions of dollars simply by moving his family to the White House and taking his little excursions to Camp David like just about every president before him.
But he won't. He is used to a certain lifestyle and he has no intentions of changing it.
And let's face it who in his administration would have the guts to call him out over it?
Source http://ift.tt/2kR0hsq
