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Will It Cost Taxpayers $1 Million a Day for Trump's Family to Stay In New York?

It's impossible to say what the potential costs to taxpayers will be for Trump's wife and child to stay in New York.

Published Nov. 22, 2016

 (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Image Via Gage Skidmore/Flickr

On 20 November 2016, the New York Post reported that the wife and 10-year-old son of President-elect Donald Trump would not be moving into the White House immediately after he takes office in January 2017, but instead would be staying in the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City until the child finishes out the school year.

The report that Melania and Barron Trump would remain rooted in one of the most heavily-trafficked metropolitan centers in the world led to speculation about the cost to taxpayers of the logistics challenge it presents. On 21 November 2016, CNN Money posted a report with the headline (and claim): "Protecting Donald Trump costs New York City more than $1 million a day."

The sources cited for this claim are three unnamed city officials:

Protecting President-elect Donald Trump and his family is costing New York City more than $1 million a day, according to three city officials.

And those costs won't necessarily drop significantly once he moves to the White House.

That's because Melania Trump and their 10-year old son Barron expect to stay at their home at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, at least until the end of the school year. And Donald Trump has indicated he plans to return home regularly, especially while they're still here.

The expense reportedly comes from law enforcement assigned to protect Trump's adult children and grandchildren, who are also receiving Secret Service protection.

It does not seem like a stretch that providing security to Trump's wife and child while Barron finishes his school year would be a massive expense. However, predicting the cost would only be a projection, as the circumstances are unprecedented.

Bethania Palma is a journalist from the Los Angeles area who has been working in the news industry since 2006.