How much did you pay to cover Trump visits to his N.J. golf club as president? We added it up. - NJ.com

Donald Trump’s trips to his Bedminster golf club as president cost U.S. taxpayers more than $2.4 million, according to U.S. Secret Service records obtained by NJ Advance Media.

The lion’s share of the amount, $1.9 million, went for Secret Service agents’ hotel stays in the Bedminster area. The records, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, found that the Secret Service also spent $35,415 on rooms at the golf club, which served as Trump’s weekend and August getaways during the warmer months.

The Secret Service also spent $285,219 on travel, $41,499 on rental cars, $80,800 on golf carts, and $46,520 on portable toilets.

The Secret Service declined comment.

Not included are other costs of Trump’s frequent visits to Bedminster, including the estimated $142,000 an hour it costs Air Force One to fly, according to figures obtained by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, and the cost of taking the presidential helicopter from the Morristown Airport to the golf club.

“The president is a unique and singular position,” said Ben Dworkin, director of Rowan University’s Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship. “Indeed, it’s an institution. Accommodations to protect the president wherever he is have to be made. So this is not particularly surprising.”

Trump said in May 2017 that it was cheaper for the taxpayer and less disruptive for him to spend time in Bedminster rather than Trump Tower in New York City.

He was the first president not to divest his business holdings, and came under fire from ethics experts for refusing to do so.

“When President Trump would go to Bedminster, it wasn’t because he liked golf — he was making promotional appearances at a business he continued to own and profit off of,” said Jordan Libowitz, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

“Now we know his decision not to divest from his assets cost taxpayers millions of dollars. The Trump Organization should reimburse that money, but we know it won’t.”

Last August, Trump held two press conferences at the golf club before an audience of club members who booed what they considered unfriendly questions and cheered his answers.

One of the press conferences was notable for the lack of social distancing and mask wearing among his guests in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, New Jersey guidelines limited indoor gatherings to 25 people.

The golf club hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in July 2017. Trump watched the proceedings from a skybox, and $68,000 was spent to install and remove ballistic glass. Several players visited Trump after their rounds.

And the president crashed several weddings at the golf club.

Bedminster also served as a venue for fundraising events for Trump, the Republican Party and GOP candidates.

Trump spent 99 days at Bedminster during his presidency, second only to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, according to NBC News. He’s currently back at Bedminster before he returns to Florida when the weather turns colder.

The former president continues to get Secret Service protection, and earlier this month the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded a $34,140 contract for bathroom trailers. The contract runs through Sept. 30.

Revenue from Bedminster dropped by 26% during Trump’s presidency, to $14.7 million in 2020 from $19.8 million in 2016, according to Trump’s final personal financial disclosure filings. Part of the decline was due to the pandemic, as the club last year temporarily shut its clubhouse, fitness center and restaurants.

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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.

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