Amid reports that Donald Trump’s frequent golf trips have cost American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, Lara Trump claims the president doesn’t take days off.

During a Sunday, March 9, Fox & Friends Weekend interview with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, host Charles Hurt asked Leavitt if she herself has taken a single day off since Trump took office in January.

Related

Lara Trump launches Fox News show by declaring Donald Trump is a champion of women
One review of the episode: “Painful to watch.”

“I haven’t had a day off in probably a year since we’ve been on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

“We all take notes from President Trump, and Karoline, you and I both know, he does not take any days off, so nobody takes any days off,” Lara Trump added.

The comment from the president’s daughter-in-law came a day after HuffPost published an analysis that found Trump has played golf on 13 of the 48 days he has been in office for his second term. Travel to his courses in Florida on Air Force One has so far cost American taxpayers more than $18 million, according to the outlet.

According to The Guardian, every trip Trump takes on Air Force One costs roughly $200,000 per hour. The president’s two-hour flights from Washington, D.C., to Palm Beach cost about $1 million — and that doesn’t even include the cost of security and getting the presidential motorcade to Florida.

The president was reportedly playing golf at his West Palm Beach course on Saturday, March 8, the day before Lara Trump claimed he did not take days off.

HuffPost notes that a week after Trump’s January 20 inauguration, the president traveled to North Carolina, California, Nevada, and ultimately Florida. When a reporter asked whether Trump would be golfing in Florida, the president said, “No. I don’t think so. I’m busy.”

Two days later, on January 27, he was photographed playing golf on his Doral course in Miami.

The Guardian also reported that Trump’s frequent trips to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, have become a drain on the county’s resources, requiring increased security. According to the outlet, every time Trump and his entourage are in town, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw must provide helicopters to patrol the air and boats in the water on both sides of Mar-a-Lago in addition to increased manpower on the ground.

County commissioners have already approved Bradshaw’s request for $45 million to provide security for the president through November.

“We’ve already heard some information where he may be spending more time here than in Washington,” Bradshaw told The Guardian. “Definitely you’re going to see him bringing in leaders from the world. That is a significant shift in the cost for security.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.