Melania’s 145-Day Late White House Move Cost $21 Million In Security, Enough To Feed 11,000 Homeless Veterans

Now that First Lady Melania Trump is finally preparing to move with Barron Trump into the White House and out of the penthouse of Trump Tower in New York, folks are waiting on moving photos of Melania with bated breath, as reported by the Inquisitr. Whereas Melania has displayed body language that has been interpreted by some experts as displaying a woman who is very protective of her husband, Melania has been accused of not being protective enough of taxpayer funds by delaying her move into the White House for approximately 145 days. If Melania had moved into the White House with Barron on or soon after January 20, instead of waiting until June 14, which is Melania’s planned move-in date, security costs would not have been incurred.

Social media users have referenced reported costs to protect Melania and Barron at the Trump Tower and used those to calculate how much money it has cost the nation for Melania’s delayed move into the White House. According to NBC New York, New York City estimated that guarding President Donald Trump, his family and their Manhattan Trump Tower location cost about $24 million in the two and one-half months that elapsed between Election Day and Inauguration Day, from November 8, 2016, to January 20. Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill wrote to New York’s congressional delegation to get reimbursed for the initial estimate of $35 million he thought it might cost to guard the Trumps and Trump Tower, eventually dropping that estimate down to $24 million.

Update: Melania moved into the White House on Sunday, June 11, as seen in the following photo gallery.

The publication notes that when President Trump isn’t in New York City, the NYPD estimated expenses of $127,000 to $146,000 per day to guard Melania and Barron Trump. When President Trump comes back to New York City, the cost is even higher, at $308,000 per day. Therefore, multiplying the 145 days by $146,000 per day, the sum of $21.17 million results.

Certain Twitter users, like Huffington Post writer Tony Posnanski, rounded that $21.17 million up to an estimate of $24 million, for the amount he tagged Melania with costing the nation to remain in New York City instead of moving to the White House earlier. Posnanski noted that a sum so large could have provided meals to homeless veterans for an entire year. As such, his tweet is going viral, enjoying nearly 4,000 likes and more than 2,300 retweets as of this writing.

“If Melania Trump would have lived in DC… It would have saved the US 24 mil… Which is enough to feed 11,000 homeless vets for a year.”

As reported by the Canton Repository, proposed budget slashes by President Trump include a 25 percent cut in the federal food assistance program known as SNAP, which stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The program pays approximately $1.40 per meal, and at three meals per day, times 365 days in one year, multiplied by 11,000 people, that represents $16.87 million — which is actually less than the projected cost of guarding Melania during her Trump Tower stay whilst Barron finished school. According to those statistics, 15,655 people could’ve been fed three meals per day for one year at a cost of $24 million per year.

As reported by The Gazette, SNAP helps those in need on a daily basis, with children able to go to school with a full belly of food due to the program. However, the publication notes that despite President Trump’s promises to help working families, cutting SNAP benefits could have a detrimental effect upon the 8 million or so folks who rely on SNAP to keep them out of poverty.

The Columbus Dispatch published a heartfelt letter from a Vietnam veteran who wrote about thousands of other veterans who are jobless, homeless and hungry. Nick Sunday, out of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, wrote about connecting many veterans with SNAP in order to provide veterans with healthy food. Yet he also bemoaned President Trump’s proposed slashing of billions from SNAP.

Veteran Nick Sunday: “I urge members of Congress to oppose deep cuts or harmful changes to SNAP.”

The Washington Post reports that Tim Keefe, a homeless Navy veteran, resorted to eating squirrels when his food stamps were cut.

“For a period last year after he lost his food stamps, Tim Keefe, an out-of-work and homeless Navy veteran, used his military training to catch, skin and eat squirrels, roasting the animals over an open fire outside the tent he pitched in frigid Augusta, Maine.”

Keefe quipped about his job loss prompting his recommended hunger diet.

“There were many times… when I would go two or even three days without food. If one was inclined to lose a lot of weight, I could recommend this diet wholeheartedly.”

Detractors who defend Melania against those who track how much Melania has created security expenses for delaying her White House move credit Melania with not wanting to yank Barron out of school in the middle of the school year, and call her a great mother for waiting to move to the White House and not disrupting Barron’s school year. Others are looking at the bigger picture, and writing on social media about how much money could have been saved by an earlier move to the White House.

Rumors of why Melania might want to remain at Trump Tower are continuing to float around online, even as the White House and Melania’s spokesperson refuses to comment on the melee, as reported by the Inquisitr.

As reported by Japan Times, Melania’s move into the White House with President Trump and Barron will be an interesting test to see how the 47-year-old Melania gets along with her husband under close quarters.

The comments regarding Melania’s move to the White House can be read below.

“Her boyfriend lives in NYC, well that’s the rumor they’re not denying or suing the messenger about. Melania sues for everything.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me in the least. Bet she dreads coming to D.C with her sham of a loveless marriage.”

“‘Every form of refuge has its price,’ too bad we have to pay as well as Melania.”

[Featured Image by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]