Staff Reports
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden's frequent excursions to Delaware have cost taxpayers at least $11 million since he took office.
Mark Knoller, a veteran CBS journalist, says Biden has spent 185 days in Delaware.
The travels cost taxpayers money for Air Force One, Marine One, and Secret Service protection. The president visits Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Most travels featured direct White House-to-Delaware transport. Biden has taken 101 trips between the White House or Joint Base Andrews and Delaware, Knoller said.
Knoller has been a source of information for reporters and the White House for decades.
Marine One helicopters cost between $17,065 and $20,206 per hour, according to DoD statistics. According to the president's timetable, the helicopter ride to Delaware takes one hour.
According to the president's itinerary, Air Force One costs $177,843 per hour and takes 30 minutes to reach Delaware. Total trip expenditures, including all modes of conveyance, are roughly $4 million. The New York Post reported that the president's first 16 visits to Delaware cost $1.96 million. A per-trip cost from these facts applied to the president's 57 travels equals $7 million for taxpayers.
The president has other weekend alternatives. The White House is a gorgeous home. The president may use Camp David, a half-hour helicopter ride away. 19 times as president, significantly less than Delaware. Biden’s $11 million receipt for Delaware travels is likely an underestimate since it doesn't include numerous incidental charges. These include extra helicopters, transit to and from military airports, and personnel accommodations. The president's 16 trips to Delaware from places where he had official business are also not included since they may not have been substantially costlier than if Biden had returned to the White House.
Biden used Amtrak from Delaware to D.C. every day the Senate was in session, earning him the moniker "Amtrak Joe." He claims 8,200 round-trips and 2 million kilometers. The Delaware-to-Washington-and-back ticket was less than $100.
As president, Biden's preference for visiting Delaware costs taxpayers more than $200,000 roundtrip.
Former President Donald Trump was criticized for his frequent, pricey trips to Mar-a-Lago and his golf club in New Jersey. Biden visits home more frequently than Trump, despite the commute from Washington to Delaware is shorter. Biden’s trips home stretch beyond the typical presidential weekend. The president departs Thursdays for Delaware to work from home on Fridays and weekends. He leaves Monday morning, not Sunday night.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Fox News.
