Taxpayer money on himself

Second-term golf trips have cost taxpayers more than $100 million, by one press estimate

$101M+ in travel and security (HuffPost estimate)

HuffPost estimates Trump’s golf outings cost taxpayers at least $101.2 million in travel and security between January 2025 and March 28, 2026, his 110th day on a golf course he owns. The estimate applies per-trip costs from a 2019 GAO report: about $3.4 million per Mar-a-Lago trip and $1.1 million per Bedminster trip. Separately, the watchdog CREW counted visits to his own properties on 191 of his first 512 days back in office (37 percent) as of June 16, 2026.

Their response: White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, on his golf days: “President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again and make the world a safer place.” Asked what “executive time” on the schedule means, the press office told HuffPost: “Executive time refers to executive time.”

Sources: HuffPost: golf tab crosses $100 million (March 28, 2026) · HuffPost: golf tab tops $70 million (Nov. 26, 2025) · CREW: Trump has visited his properties on 37% of his days in office (June 16, 2026) · Daily Beast: 88 golf club visits in 2025 · GAO-19-178

Ballroom billed as donor-funded is drawing hundreds of millions in public money

~$300M taxpayer share (Washington Post reporting)

Trump had the White House East Wing demolished in October 2025 for a ballroom he said private donors would pay for; the stated price rose from about $200 million at the July 2025 announcement to about $400 million. The Washington Post, citing internal documents, reported that taxpayers are covering about $300 million for security and underground work and that total White House construction spending will top $900 million, mostly public money. A Republican bid for $1 billion in related security funding was dropped in 2026 after the Senate parliamentarian ruled against it, and the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Aug. 31, 2026 that building can continue during litigation, without deciding whether the project is lawful.

Their response: Trump said on social media the ballroom is being privately funded by “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly” and will not cost taxpayers (AP via PBS, Oct. 2025).

Sources: New York magazine (Sept. 4, 2026) · PBS NewsHour / AP: 9 things to know about the ballroom · CNN: Senate Republicans and $1 billion in ballroom security funding · CNN: Supreme Court allows ballroom construction · NBC News: East Wing fully demolished · Washington Post: at least $900 million in White House construction (not opened, paywalled) · Washington Post: $600 million estimate, half from taxpayers (not opened, paywalled)

Homeland Security money paid for campaign-style TV ads starring Trump before the midterms

$20M ad contract

In late September 2026, about a month before the midterm elections, TV ads featuring Trump and ending with “Paid for by the U.S. Government” began airing nationally; one closely matched a video from his 2024 campaign. ABC News reported that federal records show money was moved into a Customs and Border Protection “commemorative events” account on Sept. 19 and a $20 million “National Media Campaign” contract was awarded the next day. Senate Democrats called the spending illegal, and the AP reported criticism from both parties that it likely violates the ban on government propaganda.

Their response: White House spokesperson to ABC News: “These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”

Sources: ABC News: pro-Trump ad campaign financed by DHS · PBS NewsHour / AP: Homeland Security spending $20M on pro-Trump ads · CNN: White House government-funded ad mirrors 2024 campaign video · HuffPost: White House defends “Love Me” ads · NPR: legality of taxpayer-funded ads

Army parade on his 79th birthday was budgeted at up to $45 million

$25M to $45M (Army estimate)

The Army’s 250th anniversary parade through Washington on June 14, 2025, which was also Trump’s 79th birthday, was estimated by Army officials to cost between $25 million and $45 million. That included possible street damage first estimated at up to $16 million, which the Army Corps of Engineers later cut to about $3.5 million after laying steel plates to protect roads from tanks.

Their response: Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press the cost was “peanuts compared to the value of doing it” and said of the date: “I view it for Flag Day, not necessarily my birthday.”

Sources: ABC News: Army expects to spend up to $45M · NBC News: parade could cause $16 million in street damage · CNN: Army says street damage estimate cut to $3.5 million

Florida gave his library foundation downtown Miami land appraised at over $66 million for $10

$66M+ of public land, for $10

Miami Dade College gave a 2.63-acre downtown Miami parcel, appraised at more than $66 million, to the state, and a board of Florida Cabinet officials voted to hand it over for Trump’s presidential library; property records show his foundation took title in February 2026 for $10 on condition that construction starts within five years. A lawsuit by historian Marvin Dunn alleging an open-meetings violation temporarily blocked the transfer before a judge threw it out in December 2025. Asked about renderings of a skyscraper in March 2026, Trump said the building is “most likely gonna be a hotel” and added: “I don’t believe in building libraries or museums.”

Their response: Eric Trump has said the library will be “one of the most beautiful buildings ever built” and “an Icon on the Miami skyline.” A college trustee called it an expansion of an educational facility.

Sources: NBC 6 Miami: foundation gets site for $10 (Feb. 23, 2026) · CNN: library renderings and Trump’s hotel comment (March 2026) · CBS Miami: college trustees vote again on land transfer · NBC News: Trump settles on downtown Miami

Five-day Scotland trip to open his new golf course cost taxpayers about $10 million, by one estimate

~$9.7M (HuffPost estimate)

Trump spent five days in late July 2025 at his Turnberry and Aberdeen resorts in Scotland, cutting the ribbon on a new Trump Organization course while also meeting British and EU leaders. HuffPost put the taxpayer cost at a conservative $9.7 million in 2017 dollars (about $12.8 million adjusted for inflation), using GAO cost figures for Air Force One, cargo flights and security. CREW reported more than $53,000 in Secret Service hotel bills for the trip.

Their response: White House officials did not answer HuffPost’s questions, including whether Trump would reimburse the Treasury; publicly, Trump and aides pointed to his meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Sources: HuffPost: Trump spending $10 million of taxpayer money to promote his Scotland golf course · CREW: Trump’s properties remain an epicenter of conflicts (Feb. 24, 2026)

Secret Service paid nearly $100,000 to Trump properties in the first months of his second term

~$100,000 (partial records)

Records obtained by CREW through a FOIA request show the Secret Service spent nearly $100,000 at Trump-owned properties early in his second term, including what appears to be more than $50,000 at Trump National Doral. CREW says that is roughly a tenth of the nearly $1 million the agency spent in that period protecting Trump and his family at his businesses, on vacations and at leisure events.

Sources: CREW: Secret Service has spent nearly $100k at Trump properties (Oct. 14, 2025)

He picked his own Doral golf resort to host the 2026 G20 summit

Trump announced in September 2025 that the G20 leaders’ summit on Dec. 14-15, 2026 will be held at Trump National Doral, the Miami-area resort he owns. CREW, which sued for records, says the State Department has produced no evidence of a competitive site selection. In his first term he dropped a plan to hold the G7 at the same resort after bipartisan criticism.

Their response: The White House said Trump Doral would host the summit “at-cost, and will receive no profit from either the State Department or a foreign government.”

Sources: CBS News: Trump announces G20 at his Doral resort (Sept. 5, 2025) · CREW: Trump’s unilateral selection of his own club for the G20 (April 16, 2026)

Donors, not Trump, paid about $91 million of his legal bills

$90.8M in donor money

Trump’s Save America political committee had paid $90.8 million to the lawyers handling his criminal and civil cases by December 2024, according to a HuffPost analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. This is donor money rather than taxpayer money.

Their response: The Trump transition did not respond to HuffPost’s query.

Sources: HuffPost: Trump sends another $4.3 million of donors’ money to his lawyers (Dec. 6, 2024)

Republican committees spent $931,000 at his properties in seven months

$931,000 in seven months

Political committees reported spending $931,129 at Trump properties between his second inauguration and late August 2025, with the Republican National Committee accounting for $737,248, according to CREW’s analysis of FEC filings. CREW counted $11.8 million in spending by political groups at Trump properties during his first term. This is donor money rather than taxpayer money.

Sources: CREW: Political spending tops $900K at Trump properties since inauguration (Aug. 27, 2025) · CREW: first-term legacy report (Jan. 15, 2021)