Biden's early-presidency getaways so far outpace Trump's

[Roger Duke]

I’d say the Biden Presidency more about give-aways than get-aways.

Now, that's clever!

 

[MaryP]

This is impressive. You have my respect. We need more people like you who aren't afraid to point out faults of a person they supported.
Trump was rude and terrible with the national debt.
There fellow conservatives....take that.

I don't think it's a fault. The White House used to be a house, a real nice one to show the world's visitors we had some class.

Over the years it has expanded into a sprawling complex of government offices with hundreds of politicos and eager aides rushing about, with an upstairs apartment over the shop for the Pres and family. Security has eyes on them every minute as well as the press crowding and peering to see what they can scoop. And it's overrun with mice and roaches despite all they can do.

Of course he'd rather go home or to Camp David. Maybe the White House needs to be rethunk. Pres Biden isn't the first Pres to call it a gilded cage.

 

[Puigb]

Fair enough.

I wasn't even considering that angle.

But, we sure beat-up on Trump . . .

We beat up on Trump because GOP voters and their idiot politicians and media criticized Obama for golfing for 8 years...and then their hero Trump golfed more in 4 years than Obama did in two terms. BTW, I preferred Trump golfing because it slightly minimized the damage he could inflict.

 

[bullseyelqcs]

I'm not so sure that's such a lucrative issue.

In turn, Biden just had a $400K fence put up at his property - courtesy of the taxpayer.

No doubt Trump was doing graft & selling out. But, I was strictly addressing the time-off facet of this. We gave Trump hell, and Biden seems to even trump that! <-- see what I did there?

Anyway, the article caught my eye - so I thought I'd post.

To be fair, we gave Trump hell because he knocked Obama for taking days off and claimed he wouldn't be doing so, then went and blew Obama's days off schedule out of the water, and usually at the expense of taxpayers and to his own financial benefit, which is also an added negative in my book.

I don't recall Biden making the same claim about Trump that Trump made about Obama.

Minor difference, I know, but it kinda matters.

 

[post]

I'm not so sure that's such a lucrative issue.

In turn, Biden just had a $400K fence put up at his property - courtesy of the taxpayer.

No doubt Trump was doing graft & selling out. But, I was strictly addressing the time-off facet of this. We gave Trump hell, and Biden seems to even trump that! <-- see what I did there?

Anyway, the article caught my eye - so I thought I'd post.

Unless your effort here is sarcastic, you seem unaware you are comparing apples to oranges. Nearly every thought and act of Trump, his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and his two sons has been premised on how it might benefit them, especially in the present news cycle and longer term financial consideration, versus Biden obviously attempting to consider the country's interests, first.

For example, you posted a description of a $400,000 security fence protecting an area where the president himself is under Secret Service protection. Is it actually an investment, in that it reduces other costs of protection?

You've made this about expenditure and not about intent, level of selfishness vs dedication to duty, and certainly not
about performance, efficiency of use of time during periods spent away from the White House. Why?

First lady Jill Biden visits Bronx school - NY1​

3 days ago

Contrast that small expense with this costly, five month "hold out" reportedly a blackmail attempt over a demand to modify her "pre-nup". Now, the FLOTUS is an unelected position, but it is accompanied by an appropriation for staff, operating expenses, and a set of duties understood to be service to the country.

How much was 5/12 of $46,355,000, plus the hit to SS as a consequence to members of the first family residing at length
in two places?

Does Melania Trump's NYC Security Cost Twice the NEA's Budget?

One report claimed the cost of protecting the First Lady while she lives in New York City would be around $300 million per year.

www.snopes.com

"...Based on the figures O’Neill included in his letter, it would cost between $46,355,000 and $53,290,000 a year to provide security for Melania and Barron Trump alone at Trump Tower, substantially lower than Chapman’s prediction."

$600 million in four years, and the bleeding of taxpayer borrowing to cover it all is certainly not over yet, vs. $97 million
for Obama's security expenses over 8 years!:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/05/20/melania-trump-helped-boost-trump-familys-continuing-secret-service-costs/

Melania Trump helped boost Trump family’s continuing Secret Service costsOne of the early pressures on the Secret Service was the personal choice of Melania Trump to stay in Manhattan during the first five months of her husband’s presidency, a new book reveals​

May 20, 2021
“Assessing and shielding the Trump family’s three-story penthouse apartment from attacks created a protection price tag unlike any other the Service had encountered,” Leonnig wrote. In March 2017, the Secret Service needed an emergency infusion of $28.3 million to secure the property. The request didn’t go down well with Democrats in Congress, who challenged newly installed Secret Service director Randolph Alles on the fact that Trump no longer lived there and Melania Trump was expected to leave by the summer of 2017....

It’s not unheard of for presidents to extend protections to their children after they leave office, Forbes reported. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama extended security for their daughters, but it’s unusual for presidents to do so their adult children, as Trump did for Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric and Tiffany Trump, Forbes reported.

The Daily Beast reported this week that Jared Kushner racked up a Secret Service bill of at least $12,950 for hotel rooms at the Ritz-Carlton during a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, according to a federal acquisitions document obtained by the Daily Beast. Kushner traveled to the United Arab Emirates, presumably on private business, and he and his entourage stayed at the Ritz-Carlton from May 5 to May 14. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also took a 10-day vacation with their children to Salt Lake City, immediately after the end of Trump’s presidency, Forbes said, citing a report by the Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). The hotel costs for Secret Service agents guarding the family for the 10-day trip amounted to $62,599.39, according to CREW..."

 

[Chomsky]

Big, huge even, difference in cost of Biden’s local getaways compared to Trump’s 500+ personal trips, including 134 to Mar-a-Lago.

Trump has made 500 visits to his properties while in office​

Trump has made 500 visits to his properties while in office - CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Trump's 500th visit to one of his properties was a meeting with donors at Trump Hotel in Washington today ahead of his speech at the RNC.

www.citizensforethics.org

Why, in the scheme of things, would these relatively moderate amounts of money be of such a concern?

These guys are in charge of a $21T GDP, a $6.6T budget, and God only know how much in assets. They're so important, we spend hundreds of millions keeping them safe.

 

[post]

View attachment 67358562

At least he's keeping his head protected. That is how you wear a helmet, right?

He's not modeling the helmet to obtain a cut from sales of identical head gear..

Photos of Trump golfing posted online

President Trump played a round of golf during the fifth day of his summer vacation in New Jersey. An Instagram user posted a photo of himself and the president posing on the course at the Trum…

thehill.com

August 9, 2017

Trump caps and ‘pussy hats’: Here’s who benefits when your purchase is political

Symbolic goods are for sale everywhere from Amazon to Walmart.

www.cnbc.com

February 7, 2017
"The majority of the MAGA caps are made in the Cali-Fame factory in Southern California by immigrant labor. The Washington Post estimates that Trump makes about $8 in profit for every hat sold (84,000 of them by June of 2016 for a total of $672,000)."

 

[bluesmoke]

Biden v Trump trips away from the WH needs more details to make a fair comparison. How much are the Biden trips costing per day v Trump; Whom recommended the security fence? The Secret Service or? We do know that Trump personally profited from him requiring he stay at facilities he owns or where he has business arrangements. It does appear Biden is spending much more of his away time working than did Trump.

Biden, and many others, is probably safer away than facing a Trump Cult insurrection at the WH.

 

[Juks]

In turn, Biden just had a $400K fence put up at his property - courtesy of the taxpayer.

How do you know that the taxpayers paid it? And why did the taxpayers pay for it? (safety issues???)

 

[Juks]

He's not modeling the helmet to obtain a cut from sales of identical head gear..

Photos of Trump golfing posted online

President Trump played a round of golf during the fifth day of his summer vacation in New Jersey. An Instagram user posted a photo of himself and the president posing on the course at the Trum…

thehill.com

August 9, 2017

Trump caps and ‘pussy hats’: Here’s who benefits when your purchase is political

Symbolic goods are for sale everywhere from Amazon to Walmart.

www.cnbc.com

February 7, 2017
"The majority of the MAGA caps are made in the Cali-Fame factory in Southern California by immigrant labor. The Washington Post estimates that Trump makes about $8 in profit for every hat sold (84,000 of them by June of 2016 for a total of $672,000)."

Only 84000 sold? I thought he had 70 million dedicated supporters....

 

[VySky]

Ably.Did Biden get income from his increased getaways?

Probably the check is in the mail from China via his drug addicted military failure of a son Hunter

 

[VySky]

Is Joe Biden repeatedly lying to the American people, being willfully ignorant about national crises, bullying, engaging in inappropriate social media behavior, or hiring corrupt and incompetent cronies as appointees?

No? Then I'm good.

Strange definition of ‘good’

 

[holbritter]

It isn’t. Unlike Trump, Biden isn’t trying to cash in on his presidency.

Not the point of the OP, now is it?

 

[holbritter]

Biden's early-presidency getaways so far outpace Trump's | CNN Politics

President Joe Biden decamped to Wilmington on Friday, escaping the White House he's likened to a "gilded cage" for a weekend at his Delaware home. It's yet another weekend away from Washington as the President has spent a noteworthy portion of his first year in office at one of his two Delaware...

www.cnn.com

--

How about that?

As a Biden supporter who criticized Trump for his incessant golfing at his courses, I guess I have no room to speak!

Anyway, just thought I'd toss this article out there . . .

Not too many got the point of this and go right to being defensive. I don't think you're allowed to be non-partisan without repercussions, sorry.

 

[post]

I'm not so sure that's such a lucrative issue.

In turn, Biden just had a $400K fence put up at his property - courtesy of the taxpayer.

No doubt Trump was doing graft & selling out. But, I was strictly addressing the time-off facet of this. We gave Trump hell, and Biden seems to even trump that! <-- see what I did there?

Anyway, the article caught my eye - so I thought I'd post.

Can you actually compare Biden "taking time off" while away from the White House, versus continuing to work in the country's interest, versus,

Tracking the president's visits to Trump properties

The president regularly visits his personal properties and golf courses in Virginia, Florida, and New Jersey.

www.nbcnews.com

Dec. 29, 2017
"...However, the precise number of times Trump has actually played golf is difficult to track. His administration has tried to hide Trump's activity, keeping his traveling press pool away and often refusing to confirm whether he has played golf. Instead, social media has become a source of crowd-sourced reporting into the president's whereabouts."

They waited until after the election to publish this :

The Swamp That Trump Built (Published 2020)

A businessman-president transplanted favor-seeking in Washington to his family’s hotels and resorts — and earned millions as a gatekeeper to his own administration.

www.nytimes.com

December 10, 2020
"...But Mr. Trump did not merely fail to end Washington’s insider culture of lobbying and favor-seeking.
He reinvented it, turning his own hotels and resorts into the Beltway’s new back rooms, where public and private business mix and special interests reign.

But once Mr. Trump was in the White House, his family business discovered a lucrative new revenue stream: people who wanted something from the president. An investigation by The Times found over 200 companies, special-interest groups and foreign governments that patronized Mr. Trump’s properties while reaping benefits from him and his administration. Nearly a quarter of those patrons have not been previously reported.
The tax records — along with membership rosters for Mar-a-Lago and the president’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., as well as other sources — reveal how much money this new line of business was worth. Just 60 customers with interests at stake before the Trump administration brought his family business nearly $12 million during the first two years of his presidency, The Times found. Almost all saw their interests advanced, in some fashion, by Mr. Trump or his government. ....But whether they won or lost, Mr. Trump benefited financially. They paid his family business for golf outings and steak dinners, for huge corporate retreats and black-tie galas.....In addition to AAR Corp., the Times analysis showed that more than 100 other companies that wanted something from the federal government also patronized Trump properties...."

 

[TheParser]

Thanks for the great news.

Like many other people, I feel sorry for Mr. Biden, because of his cognitive challenges.

I hope that he spends more time in Delaware in order to rest and recuperate and to get any necessary medical treatments.

I am guessing that as his term progresses, he WILL spend more time away from the White House.

And that the Vice President and the Cabinet will become a de facto ruling junta.

 

[Airyaman]

It seems that Biden got a nearly $500K security fence built around his Delaware beach house.

Biden's home gets $500K fence using federal funds, Internet says he 'canceled our wall'

Reports indicate DHS spent nearly half a million to secure Delaware property Biden has visited twice since becoming POTUS leaving the internet furious

meaww.com

Not unusual.

Mar-a-Lago Gets $600,000 Security Upgrade on Taxpayers’ Dime

Trump’s gaudy hideaway has been criticized in recent years for its shoddy defenses against everything from intruders to malware to spies.

www.thedailybeast.com

Congress Allocates $120 Million for Trump Family’s Security Costs (Published 2017)

The additional funding, part of a spending deal that could pass this week, reflects the extraordinary costs associated with the family’s lifestyle.

www.nytimes.com

It Cost $24 Million to Protect Trump Tower From Election to Inauguration

That's $308,000 per day.

fortune.com

Washington Post: Secret Service paid rates as high as $650 a night to stay at Trump properties | CNN Politics

The Trump Organization charged the US Secret Service in 2017 for rooms at President Donald Trump's properties at rates as high as $650 a night, The Washington Post reported Friday.

www.cnn.com

Security for Trump’s Mar-a-Lago visits cost local taxpayers $13 million

Local law enforcement and government security costs for President Trump’s visits to Mar-a-Lago have topped $13 million, according to county documents. The Palm Beach Post reports th…

thehill.com

 

[Callen]

It seems that Biden got a nearly $500K security fence built around his Delaware beach house.

No doubt at the recommendation of the SS. I suspect they do a total valuation for all incoming Presidents and address concerns. I'm certain the last thing the Bidens want around their beach home is a security fence.

The real issue is why it's needed in the first place.

 

[Patriotic Voter]

Fair enough.

I wasn't even considering that angle.

But, we sure beat-up on Trump . . .

Because Trump the Terrorist owned a bunch of resorts, so he paid to stay at them instead of going back home or to Camp David.

 

[Airyaman]

A little more detail as to why Biden spends so many weekends in Delaware...

 

[ttwtt78640]

No doubt at the recommendation of the SS. I suspect they do a total valuation for all incoming Presidents and address concerns. I'm certain the last thing the Bidens want around their beach home is a security fence.

The real issue is why it's needed in the first place.

Yep, because physical barriers enhance security (unless, of course, we are talking about our nation’s borders).

 

[911Sparky]

He's too busy vacationing to visit our in-crises southern border

‘Guess I should go’: Biden hasn’t ‘had time to get down’ to border despite 70 Delaware days

President Biden on Thursday said, “I guess I should go” to the US-Mexico border, but that he hasn’t been able to find the time.

nypost.com

President Biden on Thursday said, “I guess I should go” to the US-Mexico border, but that he hasn’t been able to find the time — despite spending at least part of 70 days in office collecting some R&R at one of his Delaware homes.

Biden said during a CNN town hall that he’s been to the border before, a claim for which Fox News recently reported it was unable to find evidence, and that he might go again.

“I’ve been there before and I haven’t — I mean, I know it well. I guess I should go down. But the whole point of it is I haven’t had a whole hell of a lot of time to get down,” he said.

“I’ve been spending time going around looking at $900 billion worth of damage done by hurricanes and floods and weather and traveling around the world. But I plan on — now my wife Jill has been down. She’s been on both sides of the river, she’s seen the circumstances there, she’s looked into those places.”

It’s unclear when Biden, who is a former senator and vice president, may have visited the border in the past and he gave no indication of timing.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last month was asked at a press briefing for information on whether Biden had ever visited the border. She said, “I will have to look back in my history books and check the times he’s been to the southern border.”

I wonder why all the fuss about Biden/ Harris visiting the border, the same as I wondered about the fuss over trump/ Pence visiting the border. These trips are nothing but photo opps and do nothing to solve the problem any more than visiting a medical lab solves the covid crisis. Maybe I'm a little too pragmatic.

 

[JMB802]

Strange definition of ‘good’

Exactly how is being pleased that our commander in chief doesn't lie repeatedly, doesn't bully, doesn't act like a jackass on social media, doesn't blatantly ignore crises, and doesn't appoint greedy and incompetent cronies a "strange definition of good"?

 

[phoenix2020]

I don't think it's a fault. The White House used to be a house, a real nice one to show the world's visitors we had some class.

Over the years it has expanded into a sprawling complex of government offices with hundreds of politicos and eager aides rushing about, with an upstairs apartment over the shop for the Pres and family. Security has eyes on them every minute as well as the press crowding and peering to see what they can scoop. And it's overrun with mice and roaches despite all they can do.

Of course he'd rather go home or to Camp David. Maybe the White House needs to be rethunk. Pres Biden isn't the first Pres to call it a gilded cage.

Good post.

I would prefer he travel ~half to a third as much as he has. Traveling is inherently inefficient and it’s also a vulnerability. We now have two vastly different Presidents in a row who both prefer not to spend time at the White House. That alone is quite telling.

 

[NatMorton]

Exactly how is being pleased that our commander in chief doesn't lie repeatedly, doesn't bully, doesn't act like a jackass on social media, doesn't blatantly ignore crises, and doesn't appoint greedy and incompetent cronies a "strange definition of good"?

Doesn’t lie, are you kidding? When you claim a $2.5T federal spending bonanza won’t cost anything, guess what? You’re lying.