President Donald Trump is not the only golf enthusiast in his family; his son, Eric Trump, is one as well. And according to Mother Jones' Ross Choma, a European golf outing featuring the president's son could come at a high cost to U.S. taxpayers.
Choma reports that members of President Trump's golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey are being offered a chance to visit Trump Organization golf clubs this summer in Ireland or Scotland — and in those countries, Eric Trump will be leading the golf activities. The president has golf clubs in Doonbeg, Ireland and Turnberry, Scotland, and the chance to participate will cost $6500 (which doesn't include airfare).
"Of course," Choma reports, "an independent tour doesn't have Eric Trump along for the ride. Whether or not he is worth the premium for club members, it will cost American taxpayers a significant amount."
Choma isn't sure exactly how much the Secret Service protections for Eric Trump will cost American taxpayers, but he offers some figures on the costs associated with previous trips.
The Mother Jones reporter notes that in late February, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) "released documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests showing that a two-day trip that Eric Trump took in early January 2019 to visit a Trump-branded property in Uruguay cost US taxpayers more than $80,786 — just for hotel rooms for his Secret Service detail. That doesn't include costs such as their airfare or pay."
On top of that, according to CREW, Eric Trump's visit to Uruguay in 2017 cost U.S. taxpayers $97,000 — a figure that includes hotel rooms for the Secret Service. And that same year, Eric and his brother, Donald Trump Jr., visited Dubai and the Dominican Republic to visit Trump-branded properties — and the cost for Secret Service rooms, according to CREW, was $230,000.
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