Poll: Majority think President Trump and the first family should travel less

Updated

While it is not uncommon for presidents and members of the first family to travel, a new survey suggests many Americans may feel President Donald Trump and his family's travel and associated security costs are putting too great a burden on taxpayers.

A new AOL News poll finds the majority of people surveyed said they think the president and the first family should travel less to save taxpayer money.

Of those polled, 67 percent said they feel the Trump's should travel less, while 29 percent of respondents said they do not think the first family should cut back on traveling. Four percent said they weren't sure.

Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort

During his first month in office, the president spent three weekends at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, and those trips alone may have cost taxpayers up to $10 million, including security and staffing costs, reports The Washington Post.

All presidents and their families have traveled while in office, with the protection of Secret Service, but Trump's large family means the cost is higher. Secret Service protects Trump's adult children when they travel, which means Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump's recent international trips to promote the Trump business cost taxpayers too.

It reportedly cost nearly $100,000 for Secret Service and U.S. Embassy staffers to stay in at a Trump-brand condo during Eric's trip to Uruguay. Eric and Donald Jr. also visited the United Arab Emirates to assist in the opening of a new Trump golf course, racking up over $16,000 in bills. The pair most recently traveled to Canada on Tuesday to attend a Trump Organization ribbon-cutting for a new hotel in Vancouver.

SEE ALSO: Trump condemns anti-Semitic threats and Kansas City attack in major speech to Congress

The costs of protecting first lady Melania Trump and first son Barron are also higher than usual, since the two have chosen to remain at Trump Tower in New York City until Barron finishes the school year. The NYPD initially anticipated spending $500,000 a day on security for Trump Tower, however a recent New York Times report noted that the NYPD announced the daily costs to protect Melania and Barron Trump were actually significantly lower -- between $127,000 and $146,000. That number increases to $308,000 per day when the president is staying in the penthouse.

Trump repeatedly condemned his predecessor, Barack Obama, for traveling and playing golf while in office.

Trump is currently on track to surpass the Obama family's average annual spending of $12.1 million, according to Forbes.

** Polls conducted by AOL.com do not use scientific sampling. Surveys sample thousands of users and consistently reflect results to polls administered by other outlets.

Advertisement