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Trump Cost Taxpayers Over $250k On Last Minute Overnight Trip To NYC To See UFC Fight

Trump Cost Taxpayers Over $250k On Last Minute Overnight Trip To NYC To See UFC Fight
James Devaney/GC Images/GettyImages

In 2019, then-President Donald Trump made a brief jaunt to New York City to see an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event.

It cost taxpayers a quarter of a million dollars to foot the bill.


According to Secret Service documents, Trump's leisure visit lasted roughly 16 hours.


If you're doing the math, that's over $15,000 per hour.

And that's just for the Secret Service portion of the bill.

Federal records obtained by New York Daily News under the Freedom of Information Act showed travel and accommodation expenses totaled $252,567.51 as Secret Service had to make the spur-of-the-moment jaunt possible on a particularly busy weekend.


The Secret Service was allegedly given one-week advance notice for Trump's overnight visit to Manhattan so he could watch the UFC fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden on November 2, 2019.

Records showed last minute Secret Service accommodations in Manhattan amounted to $224,212.


The cost of Secret Service agents' travel expenses—getting agents back and forth—cost $22,005.51.



Records also showed the Secret Service spent an additional $6,350 on "tents"—for use as security checkpoints—set up outside of Trump Tower where Trump stayed after the UFC event.

The media outlet noted the grand total was "heavily redacted," meaning the actual price tag may have been even higher.




At the time of his visit, Trump was under investigation by the House of Representatives for his first impeachment.

Protesters demonstrated outside the Garden while spectators inside the arena booed the beleagured former President.

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