I’m about to tell you something which will blow your mind and make you believe that time is elastic, that time is a bluff: Melania Trump’s big solo “tour” of Africa was less than a month ago! Doesn’t it feel like it happened six months ago? No, it was just in early October – that’s when Melania went on vacation in various African countries and wore various colonialist costumes. I don’t even think Melania was away for more than a week, but we’re just starting to get an idea of how expensive Melania’s taxpayer-funded vacation was:
Melania Trump’s stay in Cairo during her October trip to Africa cost taxpayers $95,050, according to federal spending records. The US first lady and her entourage racked up the tab at the Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo, which offers rooms starting at $119. The hotel’s presidential suite can be rented for $699, which includes $156.50 in taxes, per the property’s website. A spokeswoman for the first lady says Trump was in Cairo for six hours and didn’t actually spend the night at the hotel.
Although a 2017 Fox News analysis of White House staffing data called the first lady’s office ”one of the leanest East Wing operations in recent history,” her bill at the Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo was significantly higher than the $77,345.35 that the government spent on her husband’s two-night stay last July at his golf course in Scotland with, among others, son Eric, chief of staff John Kelly, press secretary Sarah Sanders, and social media director Dan Scavino.
The first lady stopped in Cairo after touring Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya in an effort to demonstrate to the world that “we care.” When pressed by a reporter in Egypt on her decision to wear a jacket reading, “I really don’t care, do u” across the back during her June visit to migrant children along the Texas-Mexico border, the former model replied, “I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.” (Her plea has not been heeded.)
Payment was made to the hotel in Cairo on Sept. 30, about a week prior to the first lady’s arrival on Saturday, Oct. 6. The description of the expenditure reads simply, “FLOTUS visit hotel rooms.” No detailed breakdown of the payment, or how many rooms were rented, are provided in the data but ostensibly the tab includes the cost of the first lady’s Secret Service detail and various support staff.
It’s true that Melania has a very “lean” East Wing staff. But that’s because she doesn’t do a g-ddamn thing but go on vacation and go shopping. Her “anti-bullying” campaign was DOA before she had even given her first speech about it. That’s the only “issue” she’s taken on. If anything, I wonder if she even needs the staff she has. And she absolutely does not need to spend this kind of money on hotel rooms when she isn’t even spending the night. Jesus.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
I can’t with her, with her costumes, with her uselessness. I’m going to try to wipe out any memory of these photos by looking at photos of all the people waiting in line to vote, and maybe revisit the flowered dress-wearing Beto photo for extra serenity.
Heck, what’s $95,000.00 when you’re spending our money?
I’m not convinced it was her. This can be so easily checked out – show us the receipt and the run down of who paid for what. What could she have possibly bought there – a million glasses of OJ? A hundred pairs of sequenced shoes? Because if she hadn’t even stayed there overnight as her spokesperson claims, my suspicion is it was spent either on her security (fine with me) or someone put that in their pocket.
My guess is that she booked the presidential suite to be able to change an Secret Service had to book the floor, which led to the charges. If you use a hotel room for part of day, you pay for the whole night.
This is expensive even for booking out the whole floor for one day – especially by Egyptian standards. Someone is on the make with this and its not just the hotel.
Still doesn’t add up. Their most expensive room is 700 per night, I don’t think you could rack up that bill if you booked every hotel.
I’m no security expert, so I could be way off base. But $95,000 for security for a 6 hour stay still seems steep. But again, I could be wrong.
And if that is standard, then is it fiscally responsible to send her on these big trips? I get that it’s the admin’s stab at “diplomacy,” but if costs like this keep racking up at the taxpayers’ expense maybe things need to be re-evaluated?
Again, I don’t know anything about security measures for politicians and their families so feel free to correct me.
Price does seem high, but I think it is the right amount since Huffington Post had 2013 story about Biden’s group spending $585,000 for one-day stay in Paris Hotel. I think both are too high and excessive and wonder why they didn’t spend night somewhere else.
The presidential suite is only 700 dollars? that actually seems reasonable….and it makes you wonder how the bill got up that fast to 95k…
I’m sure her costume changes were charged to us as well. Colonial Cosplay doesn’t come cheap you know!
I would say her entourage could spend that money easily on crates of champagne, but again it’s Egypt.
My only other thought is that the hotel was completely bought out by her team. And they can ask for more money than just a room rate because it would potentially effect customers who would stay longer because one day was blocked off they had to go to another hotel.
It does make you wonder. Charges for security I’m assuming, their meals, etc. But it’s still a massive amount for a 6 hour visit that accomplished nothing more than a photo shoot for Melania. Kind of a huge waste of taxpayer money that could have been spent on things that are really important like failing infrastructure or other needed services (heck… help for hurricane victims in Florida and Puerto Rico!)
“The description for the payment reads “FLOTUS visit hotel rooms,” but does not break down how the funds were allocated or how many rooms were rented….Despite not spending the night, the first lady and her entourage racked up a bill of $95,050 at the Semiramis Intercontinental hotel, Quartz reported. The hotel offers rooms starting at $119, and the presidential suite costs $699 per night. The hotel has a rooftop pool, fine dining, and a terrace with “stunning views of the sunset over the Nile.””
http://uk.businessinsider.com/melania-trump-cairo-hotel-cost-95000-2018-11
I was thinking that too. So I was like am I crazy $700 is not bad for a presidential suite
Wine. The best wine.
It’s called…”Kickback”…from the hotel’s and corrupt Egyptian government’s end…and it’s called “Revenge” on FLOTUS’ staff end in making sure EVERYBODY and they Mama knows about the corrupt kickback…
Yep.
And her spokesperson was angry because it was reported she spent the night. It makes it worse that she DIDN’T spend the night and still spent close to $100,000. And comparing it to Trump’s stay at HIS golf course is ludicrous. If he is staying at his golf course there should be minimal expense because he is profiting off of their stay. And doing the math, she would have had to have booked 129 rooms at the cost of a presidential suite and it is $15,000 an hour spent.
I was surprised they never mentioned that here
Remember all of the deplorables cheering and waving their trucker hats about Trump’s “work requirements” for government benefits? How great it was to finally cut back on all of that taxpayer waste? It’s insane that they believe this incredibly privileged, greedy family represents their best interests.
Racism and xenophobia, what a bond.
Why is she dressed as the Nazi bad guy from Raiders of the Lost Ark? Oh, wait never mind.
Ha ha comment of the day! she really is!
Hah!
The bragging about how “lean” her staff is always has extremely racist overtones and undertones because it is always compared with Michelle Obama, despite the fact that Michelle’s staff and costs were fully in-line with her 7 predecessors. Melanoma fired the protocol officers, which has resulted in innumerable screw ups, not just with her behavior in public but others like Pence and Nagini.
I always counter the claims that Trump is saving us so much money because Melanoma has no staff by pointing out that Nagini has a larger staff than any First Lady ever had, that First Daughter is NOT a thing, and no, we didn’t give West Wing offices or pay for staff for Malia, Sasha, Barbara, Jenna, Chelsea, W, JEB, Doro, Marvin, Neal, Maureen, Michael, Patty, Ron Jr., Amy, Jack, James, Donnel, Susan, Steven, Michael, John, Julie, Tricia, Lynda, Luci, John John or Caroline. Some of whom were far more qualified than she is and she’s costing us a fortune.
Three year old Caroline was more qualified than DaughterWife. And thirteen year old Chelsea definitely was.
$95,000 for 6 hours??!! That’s basically the cost of college these days for one student over 4 years.
HAHAHAHA I wish it was $95,000. If I hadn’t had a scholarship and paid for my first few years out of pocket at a community college, my school would have easily cost me $120K just for a Bachelors.
That’s just absurd, for non Americans it’s really hard to understand how impossible health and education costs are something you all put up with
Can we build a wall around these people?
That costume was SO idiotic.
And offensive and ignorant … but these people don’t care. No self awareness or empathy at all. They think only of themselves
Geez…Even Prince Charles would be shocked by such extravagance…
So Melanie spent 6 hours in Cairo and racked up a bill of $95,000 paid with our tax dollars . I have read DonaldTrump has spent 1 out of every 3 days at one of his resorts charging taxpayers full price for his staff and secret service. Let’s see high cost for health insurance, I just blew a tire on the expressway that was full of potholes, my family is paying off high college loan debt and I see a few dollars a month more in my paycheck due to the Republicans great tax bill. Oh yeah, I am Jewish and have to attend synagogue with armed guards all around due to a Presidents racist rhetoric. You know what, time to vote them out. Please vote.
He even charges the secret service to use golf carts when he is golfing.
I haven’t heard that…and wish I still hadn’t. And yet…no surprise.
Wonder if he also charges them for the little golf pencils available in the carts.
Corrupt to the core-.
I loathe her.
“I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.”
Bwahahaha. Good one, Melanie.
She does NOTHING.
How was it possible to spend $95k? I did the math, and at the standard rate, they could have rented 798.32 rooms! Did ~800 people go with her and each need a separate room for a couple hours of “work”? I’m confused.
Shhhhhh….easy now, lady. Don’t worry your pretty little head with numbers cause….Hillary! Fake News! Immigrant Stampedes!
You forgot her emails!
Even if she did have the worlds largest entourage, the hotel doesn’t even have that many rooms.
Man, she looks like an Insta girl model posing for her Instagram in those pics. Ha! I feel sorry for you Americans. you have this person and her hideous husband representing the US all around the world. How depressing.