SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Anti-Trump protesters line the road that leads to Mar-a-Lago, the president's resort in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Trump Has Spent More Than Three Months This Year At His Properties, Adding to Ethics Concerns
"Americans, on average, get 15 paid vacation days a year, but use only 12. Trump has taken more than 100."
Dec 25, 2017
Eleven months into his term, President Donald Trump has spent nearly a third of his time in office at properties owned by his real estate empire, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal found that the president has spent more than 100 days at one of his properties, including more than a month each at his golf course in New Jersey and at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
While Trump frequently criticized President Barack Obama for taking golf outings, and pledged on the campaign trail that he "would not be a president that takes time off," he took to calling Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House" almost immediately after entering office.
Trump's frequent travel has drawn criticism not only for the questions it raises about his use of taxpayer money and his level of interest in the work of running the government, but also for the benefits afforded to his business when he visits his properties.
The president gave control of his business to his two eldest sons when he entered office, but did not divest his assets. Critics including the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)--which vowed to continue fighting against the president's conflicts of interest after their lawsuit against him was dismissed this week--say Trump still profits off of his hotels, restaurants, and clubs. Many of his properties have raised their rates since Trump began his term, raising concerns that Trump and his company are profiting off his position in government, particularly when foreign leaders visit them.
Meanwhile, the recruitment website Glassdoor found earlier this month that most Americans don't take all of the vacation time they're afforded. Nearly 10 percent of workers who are entitled to paid time off take none at all, while only 23 percent take all of the times they're allowed--a contrast noted by some critics on social media.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Eleven months into his term, President Donald Trump has spent nearly a third of his time in office at properties owned by his real estate empire, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal found that the president has spent more than 100 days at one of his properties, including more than a month each at his golf course in New Jersey and at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
While Trump frequently criticized President Barack Obama for taking golf outings, and pledged on the campaign trail that he "would not be a president that takes time off," he took to calling Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House" almost immediately after entering office.
Trump's frequent travel has drawn criticism not only for the questions it raises about his use of taxpayer money and his level of interest in the work of running the government, but also for the benefits afforded to his business when he visits his properties.
The president gave control of his business to his two eldest sons when he entered office, but did not divest his assets. Critics including the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)--which vowed to continue fighting against the president's conflicts of interest after their lawsuit against him was dismissed this week--say Trump still profits off of his hotels, restaurants, and clubs. Many of his properties have raised their rates since Trump began his term, raising concerns that Trump and his company are profiting off his position in government, particularly when foreign leaders visit them.
Meanwhile, the recruitment website Glassdoor found earlier this month that most Americans don't take all of the vacation time they're afforded. Nearly 10 percent of workers who are entitled to paid time off take none at all, while only 23 percent take all of the times they're allowed--a contrast noted by some critics on social media.
Eleven months into his term, President Donald Trump has spent nearly a third of his time in office at properties owned by his real estate empire, according to a new report.
The Wall Street Journal found that the president has spent more than 100 days at one of his properties, including more than a month each at his golf course in New Jersey and at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
While Trump frequently criticized President Barack Obama for taking golf outings, and pledged on the campaign trail that he "would not be a president that takes time off," he took to calling Mar-a-Lago the "Winter White House" almost immediately after entering office.
Trump's frequent travel has drawn criticism not only for the questions it raises about his use of taxpayer money and his level of interest in the work of running the government, but also for the benefits afforded to his business when he visits his properties.
The president gave control of his business to his two eldest sons when he entered office, but did not divest his assets. Critics including the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)--which vowed to continue fighting against the president's conflicts of interest after their lawsuit against him was dismissed this week--say Trump still profits off of his hotels, restaurants, and clubs. Many of his properties have raised their rates since Trump began his term, raising concerns that Trump and his company are profiting off his position in government, particularly when foreign leaders visit them.
Meanwhile, the recruitment website Glassdoor found earlier this month that most Americans don't take all of the vacation time they're afforded. Nearly 10 percent of workers who are entitled to paid time off take none at all, while only 23 percent take all of the times they're allowed--a contrast noted by some critics on social media.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.