Donald Trump is set to spend at least $10 million in taxpayer funds to travel to Scotland to promote his golf resort—and residents of the country are already gearing up to protest the unpopular president.
Trump is traveling to Aberdeen, Scotland, to promote his course, using the attention generated by the presidency to generate publicity and personal income.
HuffPost analyzed the projected expenses for Trump’s trip, based on previous data provided by the General Accounting Office for such presidential travel. The outlet determined that $10 million is a conservative estimate for what Trump is costing taxpayers, and after accounting for inflation the cost could top $12.8 million.
Trump, who used to frequently criticize former President Barack Obama for occasionally golfing while president, is obsessed with using his time in office to play the sport.
According to an analysis of his public schedule, Trump has gone on golf outings for 43 days of the 187 days he has been in office during his current term—meaning that 23% of his presidency has been spent on the golf course.
“We’ve reached a point where the Oval Office is an extension of the Trump Organization, and American taxpayers are footing the bill,”Jordan Libowitz of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told HuffPost.
Not only is Trump’s trip going to cost Americans millions, but he is visiting a country where many don’t welcome him.
Scottish officials are expecting multiple groups will be present to protest Trump, including climate action campaigners as Trump has given a green light to polluters, along with trade unionists.
Many are members of the “Stop Trump Coalition,” who criticize Trump for undermining reproductive rights and attacking the middle class while promoting racism, nationalism, and authoritarianism.
The anti-Trump attitude was reflected by the front page of The National newspaper published on Friday, with a banner headline reading, “Convicted U.S. Felon To Arrive In Scotland.” The paper accurately added that “Republican leader, who was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, will visit golf courses.”
Related | US approval plummets around the world thanks to Trump
Support for the United States has significantly dropped since Trump took office. In a June survey published by Pew, 19 of the 24 countries surveyed had a lower opinion of America under Trump that they held under former President Joe Biden.
An expensive vanity trip for Trump bookended by corruption and protest is unlikely to do much to improve those numbers.