U.S. President Donald Trump has returned to his “Winter White House” in Florida for another weekend of golfing.
Trump’s whereabouts were noted by CNN producer Kevin Liptak, who issued an odd, gotcha picture on Twitter.
Trump’s visits to his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida have become so frequent, they are now being tracked by a new website courtesy of the American Progressive Action Fund called istrumpatmaralago.org.
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The American Progressive Action Fund has ties to the Democratic Party and its donor list includes George Soros.
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago trips have caught eye of government watchdog
The site provides an update as to whether he is there or not, tracks the total costs of the U.S. President’s trips to Florida and also provides and lets visitors know where the money could also be spent.
At the moment, the total cost of Trump’s visits to Mar-A-Lago have cost US$25 million according to the website which also says the same amount of money could provide school lunches for 61,000 schoolchildren for a year.
Istrumpatmaralago.org also notes the $25 million could provide Medicaid for 4,000 people and educate 2,000 kids this year.
The website’s $25-million figure is derived from a government accountability figure which pegs the cost of each visit at $3.6 million although there has been some debate over the cost.
READ MORE: Donald Trump’s use of Mar-a-Lago for visit by Japanese PM an ethical concern
That figure is derived from a report which looked at a 2013 weekend golf trip that Obama took to Palm Beach.
The report’s author, Brian Lepore, warns the figures may not be entirely accurate.
“It’s hard to substitute one trip for another, even if the destination is the same,” Lepore said. Each time a president travels, the Defense Department must airlift equipment such as the protective limousines, security vehicles and occasionally, helicopters from various military bases around the country.
A base in Illinois is charged with moving the inventory around, and costs vary widely depending on which base it comes from, he said.
A conservative watchdog pegs Trump’s visits at closer to $1 million but since the numbers haven’t been disclosed by the White House, there is no way to back either claim.
— With files from Associated Press
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