Report: Donald Trump, Grifter Incarnate, Charges Taxpayers for Water He Drinks at Mar-a-Lago

In a lot of ways, becoming president of the United States hasn’t been great for Donald Trump’s bottom line, thanks to his name and brand being synonymous with racism, kidnapping, corruption, sexual harassment, white supremacy, the death of facts, mass murder, and a crazy man who goes on TV and claims his enemies are probably running a satanic, sex-trafficking cult. Those little things have led to tenants in Trump Tower reportedly dumping their condos at a loss just to escape the stench by association, canceled hotel deals, and “sharp decline[s]” at his flagship resorts.

Still, in other ways, being the most powerful person in America has been absolutely tremendous for Trump’s family business, which he refused to divest from after being inaugurated and still profits from to this day. For one, Republican politicians, foreign officials, corporate executives, and anyone looking to grease the wheels of the federal government know their money will go far at the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. “Why wouldn’t I stay at his hotel blocks from the White House, so I can tell the new president, ‘I love your new hotel!’ Isn’t it rude to come to his city and say, ‘I am staying at your competitor?’” a diplomat told the Washington Post in 2016. For another, he’s able to use trips abroad to peddle his money-losing golf clubs, where he can also “suggest” the vice president spend the night despite non-Trump properties making more sense. And then, of course, there are the trips to Mar-a-Lago and his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

We’ve known for some time that these frequent jaunts to his own properties—280 of them to date—either to meet with heads of state or to simply get away for the weekend, cost taxpayers millions of dollars. But in a new report out today, the Washington Post puts an actual price tag on the amount of money Trump has funneled from the U.S. Treasury, as well as his campaign, directly into his own pocket: at least $8.1 million, which is reportedly more than his hotels in Hawaii and Vancouver have taken in since 2017. It also reveals what an out and out con the president is, bilking taxpayers for not just large items like hotel rooms— which, of course, they wouldn’t have to pay for if he was at the White House or a private residence—but the kind that flows out of a tap:

In the case of the government, Trump’s visits turned it into a captive customer, newly revealed documents show. What the government needed from Trump’s properties, it had to buy from Trump’s company. So the more he went, the more he got. Since 2017, Trump’s company has charged taxpayers for hotel rooms, ballrooms, cottages, rental houses, golf carts, votive candles, floating candles, candelabras, furniture moving, resort fees, decorative palm trees, strip steak, chocolate cake, breakfast buffets, $88 bottles of wine and $1,000 worth of liquor for White House aides. And water.

Yes, water:

President Trump welcomed the Japanese prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, in front of a towering arrangement of roses. The two could have met in Washington, but Trump said his private club was a more comfortable alternative. “It is, indeed, the Southern White House,” Trump said, greeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the press in April 2018. For Trump, there was another, hidden benefit. Money. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s company would get paid to host his summit.

In the next two days, as Trump and Abe talked about trade and North Korea, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., club billed the U.S. government $13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements.

Trump’s club even charged for the smallest of services. When Trump and Abe met alone, with no food served, the government still got a bill for what they drank. “Bilateral meeting,” the bill said. “Water.” $3 each.