An online petition is calling for first lady Melania Trump to move to the White House or pay for her own security at New York City's Trump Tower.
The Change.org petition, addressed to the U.S. Senate, has collected tens of thousands of signatures since it was started a week ago.
"The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower, located in New York City," the petition reads. "As to help relieve the national debt, this expense yields no positive results for the nation and should be cut from being funded."
Police Commissioner James O'Neill told lawmakers last month that securing Trump Tower cost his department $127,000 to $146,000 each day, with this daily rate reaching $308,000 when the president is actually in the city.
This seems more than fair to me.
Florida is also being crushed beneath the financial burden of having a president visit their state almost every weekend.
Courtesy of The Hill:
Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) called on Trump to either provide federal reimbursements to the local governments incurring increased security costs or cut back his trips to the resort.
“While we want the fullest protection for your visits, we hope you would be responsive to the losses of small businesses and residents of Palm Beach County,” Frankel wrote in a letter to Trump released on Monday, which was co-signed by fellow Democratic Florida Reps. Alcee Hastings and Ted Deutch.
“If compensation is not assured of being forthcoming, we respectfully ask that you curtail your visits until such time as that matter is resolved favorably to our area.”
The lawmakers outlined the piling costs of Trump’s visits to Mar-a-Lago to date: $1.7 million in overtime work paid by the the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department and Fire Rescue and $60,000 in overtime to the City of West Palm Beach law enforcement handling protests.
Trump’s hosting of Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago next month is expected to cost the sheriff and fire departments $280,000 alone, according to the letter.
Trump's weekend visits also interrupt air traffic, costing the airport around $30,000 each time.
It does not take a financial wizard to recognize that this is easily the most expensive presidency in American history. And let's not forget that Trump is also planning to cut taxes for the extremely wealthy and will instead attempt to finance his extravagant lifestyle by cutting social service programs that serve the neediest among us.
Let's face it, this country simply cannot afford a Trump presidency.
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