Is Donald Trump Spending More Money Than Obama?

President Donald Trump has made it very clear that he is a very rich man. Despite the fact that he has opted against releasing his tax returns, based on his statements and net worth, he is likely to be a billionaire.

This could also mean that President Donald Trump is the richest president in the history of America as per the Chicago Tribune. However, the riches he obtained via his various businesses are of course separated from his expenses as a government employee.

It has been two months since Donald Trump assumed the presidency and reports claim that he has been spending a lot of money on traveling. A good example would be the weekends that the president spent at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

President Donald Trump recently wrapped up his fifth weekend at the Winter White House and there are several reports that attempt to estimate the cost of each trip. A report from Politico uses President Barack Obama’s Palm Beach vacation as a reference, thus putting the cost at around $3 million per weekend.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post provided a significantly smaller estimate of $2 million per weekend, citing that Obama’s Palm Beach vacation included a work related visit to Chicago. In reference to the second estimate, it is safe to say that President Donald Trump has spent about $10 million in his five Mar-a-Lago weekends.

In addition to Donald Trump’s weekend getaway expenses, there is also the matter of Melania Trump and their son, Barron Trump. The First Lady opted to remain in the Trump Tower in New York City with their son in the name of not pulling him out of school mid-grade. This parental decision comes with a price that taxpayers partially contribute to.

The additional security for Donald Trump’s wife and son amounts to $1 million per day based on the report by CNN Money. That staggering estimate was again contested by The Washington Post, providing an estimate of $200,000 a day. If we follow the lower estimate that was provided, the cost to protect the president’s family who decided to stay in New York has reached $10 million in his two months in office.

Simply put, President Donald Trump has likely spent around $20 million on traveling and security for his wife and son. The latter excludes the additional expenses that come with the travel costs of lawmakers that have to travel to Mar-a-Lago to work with the president. Mar-a-Lago might as well be the second White House since government official work also takes place in the resort.

In comparison to Barack Obama’s travel costs that amounted to $97 million over his two terms, as per the Judicial Watch group, Donald Trump is definitely on track to best that record. The amount spent by Barack Obama roughly amounts to $12.1 million a year, miraculously, Donald Trump has already doubled that amount in only two months.

That staggering difference pales in comparison to what the costs would be if Melania and Barron never move into the White House. In addition, following President Donald Trump’s current trend of having a vacation weekend at Mar-a-Lago for four out of every nine weekends, the bar flies significantly higher. Over the course of Donald Trump’s presidency, it is possible that the costs would amount to $526 million.

The worst case scenario imaginable at this moment is just that, however, if Melania Trump stays true to her promise of moving to Washington at the end of the school year, the costs would simmer down. The same report estimates the costs to be around $130 million, which is enough to fund the Homeless Agency until the 10-year-old Barron Trump reaches the age of 42.

[Featured Image By Matt Rourke/AP Images]