Donald Trump spotted golfing amid Iran war as taxpayer cost of his trips revealed
Donald Trump has drawn criticism after being seen playing golf while fighting involving the United States, Israel and Iran continues in the Middle East.
The backlash intensified after the president was spotted over the weekend at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, days after announcing what he described as “major combat operations”.
The US and Israel launched joint military action against Iran more than two weeks ago. According to Reuters, the conflict has already caused more than 2,000 deaths across the region.
Iran responded with missile and drone strikes targeting several US military bases, including facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.
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On March 6, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said at least 1,332 people had been killed since the conflict began, with casualties also reported in neighbouring countries.
Reuters also reported that 13 US service members have died during the conflict. Six of those deaths occurred when a US military refuelling aircraft crashed over Iraq.
Golf trips draw scrutiny
Trump’s time on the golf course has attracted renewed attention as the war unfolds.
Shortly after announcing the military campaign, the president hosted football star Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami team at the White House. He has also continued playing rounds of golf, frequently visiting his properties in Florida.
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Trump regularly divides his time between the White House and his Mar-a-Lago estate and has long been known for playing golf on courses he owns.
His outings are tracked by the website DidTrumpGolfToday.com, which monitors the president’s public schedule and reports sightings of him on the course.
According to the site, Trump has spent 99 of the first 421 days of his second presidency at a golf club roughly 23.5% of his time in office, or about one in every four days.
Cost of presidential golf
Using estimates based on a 2019 Government Accountability Office report, DidTrumpGolfToday.com calculates that Trump’s golf trips have cost US taxpayers about $138.6 million since he returned to office.
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During his first presidency, the site estimated travel and security expenses linked to roughly 261 rounds of golf at about $151.5 million.
HuffPost has previously reported that trips to Mar-a-Lago can cost around $3.4 million each due to travel and security arrangements.
Much of the expense is tied to presidential air travel. The Associated Press reported, citing Pentagon data, that operating Air Force One costs roughly $200,000 per hour.
Critics respond
Presidents playing golf while in office is not unusual, but Trump’s appearances during the ongoing conflict have prompted criticism.
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Rick Reilly, a former ESPN and Sports Illustrated columnist who has written extensively about Trump’s golfing habits, was among those who condemned the outings.
Writing on X, Reilly compared Trump’s actions to those of former president George W. Bush during the Iraq War.
“George Bush stopped playing golf during the Gulf War out of respect for the sons who were coming home in boxes,” Reilly wrote.
“Trump starts a war and then tools around in his golf cart, throwing his ball out of bunkers.”
Reilly also called the 45th and 47th US president “a soulless little punk”.
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Sources: Reuters, AP, HuffPost, DidTrumpGolfToday.com
