The Air Force Made An Unusual Detour To Trump’s Resort In Scotland

President Donald Trump on his golf course at the Trump Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The Air Force made a bizarre stop at President Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort in Scotland on the way to Kuwait while delivering supplies earlier this spring, according to Politico.

The House Oversight Committee is currently investigating the military’s decision to do so, along with its expenditures at the Glasgow Prestwick Airport–the airport near Trump’s struggling resort that “has been viewed as integral to the golf course’s financial success,” according to the committee’s letter to acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on June 21.

The letter states that the military’s spending on fuel orders at the “debt-ridden” airport seem to have “increased substantially” since Trump was elected, totally $11 million. According to Politico, the Pentagon still hasn’t responded to the committee’s info requests.

Brig. Gen. Edward W. Thomas, the Air Force’s director of public affairs, told Politico that military branch had “used the closest available and least expensive accommodations to the airfield within the crews’ allowable hotel rates” when its crew stopped in Scotland.

News of the investigation comes on the heels of the scandal surrounding President Mike Pence’s decision to stay at Trump’s resort in Doonbeg during his state visit to Ireland last week, even though the resort was over 100 miles away from his meetings in Dublin.

Critics slammed Pence’s choice of lodgings as a means to enrich Trump, and the House’s investigation into the military further indicates that the President may be using his position to rescue his money-losing properties through taxpayer dollars.

 

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. “An Usual” detour?

    Isn’t that unpossible?

  2. It’s called bribery, or, if one is classically educated, tribute to caesar.

  3. Avatar for dont dont says:

    The great circle route was amended. A sharpie drew a bump taking it further north to Glasgow.

  4. Vanessa, I’d like to buy an N.

  5. When this nightmare is finally over, we can play the Source It: WH Press Release or TPM? game :thinking:

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

278 more replies

Participants

Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for darrtown Avatar for pshah Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for daulphin Avatar for morrigan_2575 Avatar for bodie1 Avatar for rickjones Avatar for susanintheoc Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for lafe19 Avatar for thinski Avatar for libthinker Avatar for zillacop Avatar for paul_lukasiak Avatar for emiliano4 Avatar for kovie Avatar for Akimbo

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: