President Donald Trump spends a lot of time on his private golf courses, although, these days, his golf game has been grounded.
Trump has spent some portion of nearly 265 days of his presidency on the ground of his clubs, he's spent approximately 90 percent of those days playing golf in some fashion, riding around in a golf cart because he doesn't walk when he plays.
Almost all of his rounds of golf have come at three of his clubs: Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C. in northern Virginia, and at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
And every time Trump is on the grounds of one of his private clubs -- whether he plays golf or not -- the Secret Service has to keep him safe. Part of protecting the President entails riding around on golf carts to make sure no one who shouldn't be near the Commander-in-Chief gets anywhere near him.
Through the first quarter of 2020, the Secret Service had already spent nearly $550,000 on golf carts to keep the President safe at his golf clubs. Now, the Secret Service has signed an "emergency order" worth $45,000 to rent golf carts for Trump when he plays golf at his northern Virginia club, according to the Washington Post.
West Virginia-based Capitol Golf Cars and Utility Vehicles, a company that formed in October, is the vendor for the deal, which runs for six months through the end of September. Trump's golf clubs in New Jersey are closed, but his Virginia club remains open at this time.
The total of how much the Secret Service has spent on golf carts for Donald Trump through Trump's first two-plus years in office is $586,425. Based on current projections, the Secret Service will spend approximately $600,000 on golf carts in Trump's four-year term. You could expect more expenditure in a second term given Trump would likely be a lame-duck president in the second half of his hypothetical final term, inviting more trips to the golf course.
By statute, President Trump is not allowed and does not profit from these cart rentals by the Secret Service.
