President Trump's weekend trips to Mar-a-Lago, his country club in Palm Beach, Florida, is apparently costing the surrounding community's economy. As the Washington Post reported, Palm Beach County will have to reorganize the budget to accommodate Trump's costly visits to his golf club, which his administration has been calling the "Southern White House"
Politicians in the area are concerned that the current situation is not fiscally possible.
“I’m not sure that anyone understood that when the president referred to Mar-a-Lago as the ‘Southern White House’ he really intended to visit almost every week,” Rep. Theodore E. Deutch, a Democrat who represents Palm Beach. “There are a lot of people who come to Palm Beach County over the entire winter to enjoy the weather and enjoy the golfing.”
“When the president chooses to do the same thing, it raises a whole host of other issues,” he added.
Deutch is pushing for federal appropriators to address the growing costs, The Post reported. The unexpected costs that come with securing Mar-a-Lago has caused a budgetary crisis for Palm Beach County.
Trump's weekend getaways cost American taxpayers more than $3 million each trip, according to CBS News. Palm Beach officials have said that the county has paid more than $1.5 million in securing the area around the president's exclusive members-only country club.
One Palm Beach official said it was his county's "patriotic duty" to pick up the tab of protecting the president.
“I would never consider a proposal that says we’re not going to use our county resources when the president’s here. It’s our patriotic duty,” County Commissioner David Kerner said. “Its just unfair that burden should be borne alone.”
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