While moving out of the White House, President Obama will also be packing his suitcase for a holiday. The outgoing executive told Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah that after eight difficult years he’s looking forward to “a decent vacation.”
No doubt Obama deserves one — of course, on his own dime this time. While in office, he’s explored the Roman Coliseum, walked the Great Wall of China and snorkeled in Maui. Now during retirement, picking a decent destination will be truly difficult.
Dubbed “the ultimate tourist,” by The New York Times, Obama seldom let a trip overseas go to waste. Diplomatic business trips doubled as Obama family vacations, like that time the president stopped in balmy Buenos Aires after swinging through tropical Havana, Cuba.
The 44th president has in fact visited every continent except Antarctica. Obama has told his aides that he wants to gaze on the frozen tundra, the New York Times reports. Unfortunately, duty has kept him from visiting. Often he’s had to settle for a few rounds of golf and frequent weekend trips to Martha’s Vineyard.
While those might not have been decent by Obama’s standards, they were definitely expensive. Each year he’s been in office, the first family has spent at least $10 million on getaways. Tracking down travel receipts through Freedom of Information Requests, the conservative group Judicial Watch recently calculated the cost to taxpayers: $85 million in eight years.
Obviously, flying Air Force One is more expensive than booking South West. And much of the cost can be attributed to the small secret service army that protects the president. Last Christmas, during the family’s Hawaii vacation, his bodyguards reserved numerous homes, rented beachfront hotel rooms and chartered 103 vehicles.
That’s all going to be hard to top.
Philip Wegmann is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
