How much are trump's golf trips costing

1. The competing headline claims that grab attention — big totals, different windows

Analyses put forward several headline numbers: a multi-source estimate of roughly $151.5 million for days spent at Trump courses across his first term and other reporting that places first-term golf-related spending in a similar $144–$152 million range ^{[2] [1]}. More narrowly scoped pieces report $26 million and $10.7 million figures tied to specific calculations or short windows — for example, a study citing a GAO-related methodology that produced a $26.1 million estimate and a March 2025 tally of $10.7 million for a recent period in office ^{[2] [4]}. Another update through mid-2025 raised the near-term bill to roughly $51.8 million since January, reflecting continued trips and differing counting choices ^[5]. These claims hinge on timeframe, included expense categories, and source data, which explains the spread.

2. What researchers count — why totals diverge and which costs matter

Differences in totals arise from which line items reporters include: full government aircraft operating hours (Air Force One), Secret Service overtime, motorcades and local law enforcement, Coast Guard or maritime patrols for Florida properties, and reimbursements paid to the president’s own clubs for lodging and services ^{[6] [1]}. Some analyses emphasize hourly operating costs for Air Force One — reported as roughly $200,000 per flight hour or $206,337 per hour in different pieces — which rapidly inflates per-trip totals when presidential flights are frequent ^{[6] [2]}. Other studies aggregate on-the-ground security overtime, local police costs, and support craft or vehicles; these items produce large but more variable bills tied to local jurisdictions’ reporting practices ^{[6] [3]}. Methodological choices drive headline differences, not necessarily opposing facts about specific expenditures.

3. Geography and self-dealing amplify the bill — Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster, and D.C.

Reporting consistently flags that Florida and New Jersey—Mar-a-Lago and Bedminster—plus Trump National D.C. generate the highest per-trip costs because of maritime patrols, extended motorcades, and stays at private commercial properties where the government pays for lodging, space, and services ^{[1] [6]}. Analyses document that trips to Mar-a-Lago attracted specific regional costs—Coast Guard or local security reimbursement claims upwards of millions in cumulative bills to Palm Beach County—while stays at Bedminster and the D.C. club carry their own elevated logistics and lodging charges billed to government accounts ^{[1] [6]}. The presence of private businesses receiving government payments during presidential travel is central to higher totals and to critiques about monetizing the office ^[1].

4. Timeframe matters — comparing first term totals to partial 2025 tallies

Most retrospective tallies for the 2017–2021 period land in a $144–$152 million range for golf-related taxpayer costs during Trump’s first term, with 293 days at his courses commonly cited as a usage metric ^{[2] [1]}. For Trump’s return to office in 2025, short-term tallies vary: one March 2025 calculation put recent costs at $10.7 million, while updates into mid-2025 reported $51.8 million attributed to trips since January — differences reflecting continuing trips and rapid accrual of transport and security costs ^{[4] [5]}. Comparisons between administrations depend on matched windows and identical cost categories; without those, apples-to-apples conclusions about relative frugality or excess are unreliable ^[2].

5. Oversight gaps and policy proposals that appear in reporting

Analyses uniformly point to transparency and oversight gaps: inconsistent local cost reporting, limited public accounting of agency overtime, and unclear reimbursement rules when presidents stay at privately owned properties drive contested totals ^[1]. Suggested fixes appearing across reports include clearer statutory limits on reimbursable costs, mandatory public accounting by agencies for travel-related expenditures, and prohibitions or caps on using private properties that benefit the officeholder financially ^[1]. Advocacy framing varies—some outlets emphasize fiscal waste and ethical conflict, others focus on procedural reforms—but the factual through-line is data gaps make precise, universally agreed totals impossible without standardized federal reporting ^{[2] [5]}.

6. Bottom line — a data-driven but qualified conclusion

Synthesis of the available analyses shows a consistent factual base: numerous reports document substantial taxpayer costs tied to presidential golf travel, often reaching well over a hundred million dollars for a four-year span and accruing tens of millions in abbreviated 2025 reporting windows; the exact figure depends on choices about timeframe and included cost categories ^{[2] [1] [5]}. The dispute is not whether these costs exist—they do—but how to count them and whether current accounting practices provide a reliable single-number answer. The most rigorous path to clarity is standardized, transparent federal reporting of travel-related agency expenses and reimbursements so future tallies can be compared directly across administrations ^{[6] [1]}.