The president departed Joint Base Andrews in Maryland aboard Air Force One on Friday morning, hoping to leave behind the MAGA firestorm<\/a> around his administration\u2019s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case<\/a>.<\/p>\n After an estimated 43 golf trips in the first six months of his second term, Trump\u2019s Scottish visit<\/a> for the opening of a new course, being billed as \u201cthe greatest 36 holes\u201d<\/a> in the sport, is expected to cost about $9.7 million, according to an analysis by HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those estimates are based on a Government Accountability Office report detailing the costs of Trump\u2019s 2017 trips to his country club in Palm Beach, Florida. Costs were not adjusted for inflation, meaning they could be substantially higher in today\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n This trip will mark the president\u2019s fifth international trip since beginning his second term in January. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s trip is expected to cost the taxpayer millions of dollars, a new report states (PA)<\/p>\n Designated by the White House as a \u201cwork trip,\u201d Trump is expected to visit his Turnberry and Menie golf courses, as well as open the new MacLeod Course at Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen, dedicated to his mother.<\/p>\n He is also expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> to discuss trade and Scotland\u2019s First Minister, John Swinney.<\/p>\n Expenses factored into the upcoming trip include Secret Service overtime, the hourly operating cost of Air Force One for its 3,000-mile transatlantic journey, and the transportation of Marine One helicopters and motorcade vehicles aboard C-17 aircraft.<\/p>\n According to the GAO report, the hourly operating cost to run Air Force One is just over $273,000, meaning the total for flights to and from Scotland alone would be around $3.8 million.<\/p>\n Marine One helicopters cost between $16,700 and nearly $20,000 per hour to operate, according to Pentagon data for fiscal year 2022.<\/p>\n Estimates also include the need for a second aircraft for Trump aides who would not travel domestically. HuffPost has based its forecast on a modified Boeing 757 being used, which is much cheaper to run than Air Force One, a Boeing 747.<\/p>\n According to previous reporting by the news outlet\u2019s analysts, Trump\u2019s golfing trip bill for his first term, including taxpayer-funded travel and security, totaled $151.5 million, and a total of 293 days at his own resorts.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Trump waved as he boarded Air Force One on Friday, as he departed for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews (Reuters)<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn\u2019t seem to see much of a difference,\u201d Jordan Libowitz, vice president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told ABC News.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.\u201d<\/p>\n A Trump spokesperson called the report of the Scotland trip expense \u201cdeeply pathetic and transparent\u201d and cited Joe Biden\u2019s frequent trips to his beach house in addition to his unrelated use of an autopen to sign orders, before saying, \u201cWhile in Scotland, the president will meet with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the historic trade deal that expanded markets for American farmers and workers and strengthen our treasured relationship with the United Kingdom.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s visit is expected to demand a major police operation, which is expected to cost Scottish taxpayers millions of pounds, as protests are planned throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n During the president\u2019s four-day trip to Scotland in 2018, the BBC reported that more than 5,000 police officers were deployed, with the U.K. Treasury contributing about \u00a35 million ($6.8 million) to help cover the costs incurred by the Scottish police force.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Trump at his Turnberry Golf Course in South Ayrshire in 2023 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n A decade ago, Trump<\/a> frequently and venomously blasted then-President Barack Obama for leaving the White House for the golf course<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have time for that,\u201d he said<\/a> at a campaign rally in 2015. \u201cI love golf. I think it\u2019s one of the greats, but I don\u2019t have time.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/66c6e4278f656bfb3a0255c891826d8dY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NjMxNzI5-2.11008915.jpg\")
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