President Trump is wasting taxpayer money with his frequent visits to "The Southern White House."

President Donald Trump has a wonderful home in South Florida that he often enjoys visiting.  Sure, Trump deserves to get away on weekends and a case can be made that the workaholic spends much of his weekend working whether he is in D.C. or Florida, however, it is mighty expensive to transport Trump and taxpayers are footing the bill.

According to records obtained by Judicial Watch under the Freedom Of Information Act, two such weekend jaunts to Mar-a-Lago aboard Air Force One cost taxpayers more than 1.2 million dollars.  And that's just for the plane.  Documents provided to Judicial Watch by the U.S. Air Force indicate it costs more than 142 thousand dollars per hour to operate Air Force One.   Information about other costs associated with these trips has not yet been obtained.

Former President Barrack Obama was widely criticized by me and others for his extensive travel on the public dole.  Judicial Watch has so far tabulated some 97 million dollars in travel expenses passed on to you and me by the Obamas.  To not complain about travel costs being incurred by the current occupant of the White House would be hypocritical.

In 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a military installation some 62 miles north-northwest of Washington D.C. a presidential retreat.  Camp David, as it is now known, has been widely enjoyed by presidents ever since both for business and recreational use.

Camp David is accessible by helicopter and by car for a fraction of the cost of jetting to Mar-a-Lago.  President Trump should consider using Camp David rather than ask taxpayers to foot the bill for his travels to Florida. Another option, should the billionaire President truly prefer Mar-a-Lago, pay for it yourself.

Editor's Note: Barry Richard is the afternoon host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from Noon-3pm. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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