We Have An Expensive President!

Did Trump's campaign pay for his election rally in Melbourne, FL Saturday?

-by Tracy B Ann

I was reading last night that it cost $98 million to guard President Obama during his 8 years as President. This weekend they we, are guarding Trump in Florida, his wife and youngest son in Manhattan and I think his older sons are in Dubai with tax payer security. Plus there are staffers at the White House in DC who get security, as does the White House itself.

According to a report from David Choi at Business Insider:

• Three trips to Mar-a-Lago since Trump's inauguration may have cost about $10 million, based on a government report from October that analyzed White House travel, according to The Post. The expenses include the cost of US Coast Guard patrol boats on the shoreline.

• Palm Beach County officials say they will request reimbursement of tens of thousands of dollars per day from the White House for their deputies who provided security and logistical support around the city.

• Police officials estimate that it would cost New York $500,000 a day, or $183 million a year, to guard Trump Tower, where first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump live.

• Secret Service and US embassy employees paid about $100,000 in hotel room bills during Eric Trump's trip to Uruguay, where he promoted a Trump-branded building.

• If the Pentagon secures rental space in Trump Tower-- needed for when the president returns to New York-- it could cost $1.5 million per year, according to the building's website.

• Secret Service paid $12,000 for tents, portable toilets, light towers, and golf carts during Trump's Super Bowl weekend trip to Mar-a-Lago.

From his 3 marriages, Trump has 5 kids, ages; 38, 34, 32, 22 and 10. They all get security. Do we pay to guard his grandkids too? It could end up costing a billion to protect Trump and his family.

The parents and siblings of the President are entitled to Secret Service protection but can decline it. Jimmy Carter's mother Lillian and his brother Billy declined it, so did Roger Clinton. Nixon paid for his own private guards though he was entitled to Secret Service. Barbara Bush declined protection when she left the White House.

"Four days before leaving office, President Bush signed a directive authorizing the Secret Service to provide a period of extended protection for his daughters Jenna and Barbara." They were 28 years old at the time.

The Secret Service also investigates fraud, counterfeiting, cyber investigations and other financial crimes. Beats me, why they do that. The history of the Secret Service is here.

The Secret Service, according to their website, protects:

• The President of the United States
• The Vice President of the United States
• The President’s and Vice President’s immediate families
• Former Presidents, their spouses and their minor children under the age of 16
• Foreign heads of state and their spouses visiting the United States
• Major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses
• Events designated as National Special Security Events by the Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

I don’t begrudge protecting the office of the President. We actually don’t pay them much, and I think (I’m not certain) that unlike Congress, they have to pay for their health care when they leave office, though they keep their plan.

They also give up their lives and normalcy (most of them) for the time that they serve the country in the office of the President. Their families do as well. So, I want them protected. I want them to have the best protection available.

But I want them to be respectful of their position, and not take advantage of taxpayers. Perhaps they could keep travel to a minimum? Use places like Camp David for meetings, which are easier to secure and cheaper to travel to. And perhaps they could not go to four places at once? Or maybe the Russians could kick in and pay for part of Trumps security.

All of this expense is why elections matter, in case anyone thought they didn’t. A lot of Trump voters may be dismayed to learn that the jobs he is creating right now are 1,000 new Secret Security jobs. To cover his family while they gad about on business adventures. Including Trump at #Mosk-Ow-Lago.

This is why the framers of our Constitution wrote in elections for Congress every 2 years. To give voters a voice. Well, start practicing your scales and warming up your voices so that they can be heard in the 2018 elections.

You don’t even have to wait that long. Several states have elections this year, 2017, for state and local offices. This is where we can make a great start in having our voices heard. Check 90for90 for candidates coming to an area near you.

Don’t forget that we are the UNITED States of America, so what happens in Virginia, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Louisiana matter in Michigan, Tennessee, Oregon and every other state. Let’s make our voices heard, not with a whisper, but with a scream.