Trump's Scotland tour to promote golf resorts has a shocking price tag for Americans, sparks backlash
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Trump and his obsession with golf
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US President Donald Trump's five day visit to his golf resorts to Scotland is set to cost the American public $10million, it has been revealed. Though the trip is officially designated as a 'work trip', it includes stops at his golf courses and the opening of a new course near Aberdeen.The US President's Air Force one has an operating cost of $273,063 per hour, meaning the total for just flying the presidential plane will be $3.8 million for the Scotland trip., according to the Huffington Post. Estimated expenses cover Secret Service overtime, the operating costs of Air Force One and Marine One, and the transportation of vehicles.Donald Trump's Scotland trip is unrelated to a planned state visit to the United Kingdom in September, making it by far the most expensive golf vacation to date in either of his terms. It will also increase the total golf tab in his second term to at least $52 million. He spent $152 million in taxpayer money playing golf at his own resorts in his first term, the report said.Trump is also scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scotland's First Minister John Swinney. The trip is expected to incur substantial costs for Scottish taxpayers due to a major police operation and anticipated protests.Jordan Libowitz, who's with the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said, 'We've reached a point where the Oval Office is an extension of the Trump Organization, and American taxpayers are footing the bill.''A president should not be spending time trying to make money in a foreign country while in office, but if they do, at the very least, they could pick up the tab for their business trips.''He's using the presidency to market his golf courses,' said Richard Painter, the top ethics lawyer in George W. Bush's second-term White House. 'At the taxpayer's expense, he's promoting himself.'The White House is yet to respond to the queries on the matter, including specifically whether Trump planned to reimburse the US Treasury. In public statements, both Trump and his aides have only spoken about a planned meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.It comes as Trump has been accused of "working a part-time job" as a Trump Golf Tracker going viral suggests he has gone golfing on nearly a quarter of the days since his January 20 inauguration..Within just a month of being back in office, Trump has already been accused of creating a "constitutional crisis" following a rapid succession of executive orders and controversial policy moves as he works with Tesla CEO Elon Musk to upend the federal government. But it appears the president has still had plenty of time to enjoy one of his favorite hobbies - golfing.According to the Trump Golf Tracker, which uses publicly available information, the president has gone golfing on seven out of his 29 days in office so far, equivalent to 24.14% of his presidency. During his first presidential term, the Trump Golf Tracker claims that he visited a 'Trump Organisation property on 428 of the 1,461 days of his first presidential term', equivalent to just under one-third of his four years in office.It's estimated that he played 261 rounds of golf during his first presidential stint. The tracker was made by The Alt Media, a publication created by former DNC field director Adam Parkhomenko and former White House correspondent Sam Youngman.The site has gone viral on Reddit, where Americans have been weighing in on Trump's golfing habits. "Honestly I wish he was golfing 100% of the time," one person wrote. A second agreed, saying: "Yeah, golfing is literally the least harmful thing he can be doing right now."
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