Is Trump Grifting The Secret Service? Gonna Just Assume 'Yes'

And I-i-i-i-i-i will always stiff YOUUUUUUUU...

The thing Donald Trump supporters really love about him is that he hasn't allowed wealth or power to change him. He's a big jerkface who expects others to do whatever's necessary to maintain his ability to act on his whims, no matter what. So of course it only stands to reason that even though the Trump family is going to cost a lot more to provide security for than any other first family, Trump's Office of Management and Budget has reportedly turned down a Secret Service request for $60 million in additional funding for next year, because don't those people know we have to keep the federal budget in check? Sure, maybe Trump could consider taking some steps to economize, like not flying to Florida every weekend, but he gets lots of work done on the golf course, so it's fine. Also, Melania and Barron have to keep living in Trump Tower, because they do, so shut up about the costs of protecting them. New York can probably pick up the tab -- about $26 million just for securing Trump Tower for fiscal 2018.

The rejection of the additional funding request means the Secret Service will simply have to cut back on some of its other, less important expenses:

While best known for protecting the president, Secret Service agents also investigate cyber­crimes, counterfeit-money operations, and cases­ involving missing and exploited minors.

No, we can't look for your kidnapped teenager. The president needs to golf.

The Secret Service declined to confirm or comment on any of the information in the Washington Post's reporting, which is based on leaked Secret Service documents and unnamed government officials; neither would Homeland Security. After the Post put its article online Wednesday, however, a staffer at OMB issued a statement saying the report that OMB had turned down funding for increased security at Trump Tower was "outright untrue," which is nice to know. Not that anyone actually is allowed to get any details, because you don't want to endanger the president's family, do you? (We certainly don't. But it would be nice to know how much they're milking us for.)

And in typical Trump fashion, Donald Trump stands to make a few bucks by keeping a residence in Trump Tower:

The Defense Department and Secret Service have sought to rent space in Trump Tower but have not said how much space they’re interested in, or at what cost. Neither the Secret Service nor the Trump Organization have disclosed how much public money, if any, is being spent toward Trump Tower space or other costs.

There's really little the Secret Service can do about those costs, since as W. Ralph Basham, the former Secret Service director for George W. Bush, explains, the agency

“does not have the liberty of going out in New Jersey” to find cheap rental space. “You have to be there,” he said, referring to Trump Tower.

And Mar-a-Lago, too. And wherever the Trumplings need to go to do their business, which is entirely separate from their dad's governing but stands to make the family a bundle.

Aren't you relieved we don't have that terrible golfing Kenyan guy in office anymore, with his annual trip to Hawaii? For what it's worth (bupkis), before the election, Donald Trump made a great show of telling everyone how frugally he'd live compared to Barack Obama and his expensive traveling all over the place, which America simply couldn't afford:

Trump repeatedly criticized the cost of President Barack Obama’s travel, saying the fact that Obama’s trips were “costing taxpayers millions of dollars” was “unbelievable.” During the campaign, Trump pledged to save public money by working diligently in Washington and skipping out on expensive travel.

“There’s no time for vacation. We’re not going to be big on vacations,” Trump said at a campaign rally last year. “The White House is this incredible place. It represents so much, and you’re there for a limited period of time. If you’re at the White House and you have so much work to do, why do you fly? Why do you leave so much?”

The rightwing nutter group Judicial Watch estimated the Obama family wasted an incredible $97 million on vacations over 8 years in office, which makes the additional $60 million a year for Donald Trump seem very affordable, since, as Sean Spicer insists, Donald Trump is NEVER on vacation, even when he might look like he's golfing every goddamn weekend:

“The president is very clear that he works seven days a week. This is where he goes to see his family. He brings people down there. This is part of being president.”

So really, it's a bargain, and exactly the same as if Trump never left the White House. So by constantly leaving the White House, Trump is actually keeping his promise to seldom leave the White House, and he's worth every penny, isn't he? Besides, he has this great idea for Russia to pick up the cost of his protection...

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[ WaPo ]