Here’s How Much Melania Trump’s Military Flights Cost Taxpayers Before Her Move to Washington
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First Lady Melania Trump racked up a significant amount of travel costs prior to her move from New York City to Washington, D.C. last year, according to a new report.
The First Lady took 21 flights over the course of three months to and from New York City, Florida and Washington, resulting in more than $675,000 in expenses, military records show, the Wall Street Journal reports. While every modern First Lady has immediately moved to the White House along with her husband, Melania opted to stay in New York so that her and President Donald Trump's son Barron could finish the fifth grade uninterrupted.
The trips cover the period from the inauguration in January 2017 to April of that year. Melania moved into the White House in June. The Journal received the records via a public records request submitted at the beginning of May.
Prior to becoming president, Trump criticized President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, for their travel habits. Trump in 2012 tweeted multiple times about a ski trip Michelle took to Colorado that cost $83,000 for Secret Service protection and travel expenses, according to records kept by conservative group Judicial Watch. Trump additionally tweeted about Michelle Obama's 2010 trip to Spain with one of her daughters, saying the family "love[d] to spend money."
Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Melania Trump, told the Journal: “It is no secret that Mrs. Trump lived in New York City the first few months of the administration so that her son could finish school. The trips mentioned in this story are examples of Mrs. Trump juggling dual roles—putting her son first while also fulfilling some of her duties as First Lady."
Several members of Trump's administration have been criticized over their travel expenses. In September, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned following an outcry for his frequent use of private and military jets.