What Is The 'Winter White House?' Trump Weekend Trip To Mar-A-Lago To Cost Taxpayers Millions

When Marjorie Merriweather Post, the heiress of Post cereal and original owner of President Donald Trump’s luxury resort Mar-a-Lago in South Florida, died in 1973, she bequeathed the property to the government hoping it might someday be a home for future presidents. After buying the estate decades ago, Trump will be fulfilling Post’s dying wish when he makes his first visit to the “Winter White House” since taking office Friday, according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Trump, who was expected to fly from Washington, D.C., will return to frigid winter temperatures of the nation's capital Monday, Spicer said.

Mar-a-Lago has been Trump’s home base outside of New York City since the real estate tycoon purchased the 118-bedroom property from the U.S. government in 1985. He paid less than $10 million and renovated it into the luxury resort and club it has since become.

The news of Trump's Florida sojourn was being met with condemnations similar to those made by Republicans about former President Barack Obama’s travel expenses. Trump’s first trip as president to Mar-a-Lago could leave taxpayers with a bill north of $3 million, Politico reported Friday.

The price tag for Trump's weekend trip was heavily predicated on the costs associated with adequately securing the areas the president visited.

The Coast Guard in South Florida has announced an increased "security zone" to ensure the president’s safety from "terrorist acts, sabotage or other subversive acts," according to a statement from the Coast Guard.

Trump himself has previously denounced Obama for taking multi-million dollar trips.

The term “Winter White House” was first used when referring to the former compound in Palm Beach, Florida, which President John F. Kennedy frequently visited with his wife and family while in office. Kennedy spent his final weekend there before being assassinated in Dallas in 1963, according to local reports on May 29, 2015.