The entire Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un summit looks like it may have been a costly mistake.
The entire Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un summit looks like it may have been a costly mistake.
Not only was it it bad for Trump’s reputation at home and abroad, the meeting in Vietnam cost US taxpayers at least $6 million, according to a Quartz analysis of government spending reports and Air Force One operating costs.
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That figure likely underestimates significantly the total expense of the presidential trip to Hanoi, because it doesn’t include the cost of flying advance teams to Asia in order to plan and to scout meeting locations, the extra security costs to protect the White House team, or on-the-ground costs during two refueling stops for Air Force One.
The expenditures reported by the government so far are only a partial picture, as filings are often made weeks, sometimes months, after expenses are incurred. Some filings contain more detail than others—there’s a $160,000 Secret Service expenditure that’s classified just as “CREDENTIALING VIETNAM KIM JUNG UN (sic).” Others are linked to the summit by date, location, or agency.
Here’s a bare minimum on what setting up the summit cost US taxpayers, by category:
Air Force One departed Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at 12:30pm US Eastern time on Feb. 25, stopped for two one-hour refueling stops in the UK and Qatar, and arrived in Hanoi at 9:30am ET on Feb. 26, for a total flight time of 15 hours.
Flying Air Force One from Washington to Hanoi cost $2.14 million each way, based on the Defense Department’s hourly operating rate of $142,380 for the presidential plane—a round-trip cost of $4.28 million. The Marine One helicopters normally used to fly Trump from the White House to Andrews weren’t used on departure because it was too windy. The president and his team traveled by motorcade. If they’re used on his return, as expected, that’s another $14,406.
The US contingent rented an unknown number of hotel rooms, as well as conference rooms and meeting spaces, for a total of roughly $1.2 million.
The Trump team’s transport costs include a $14,000 charge for “hangar rental,” presumably for Air Force One.
Internet connections, special lighting, drapes, and credentialing services added up to about $300,000.
