Obama $200 million a day trip, 2010
From WikiFactCheck
|
In 2010 after the November elections, rumors started about President Obama's visit to Asia costing $200 million dollars a day. This was found to be untrue.
[edit] Origins
A November 2 Press Trust of India article quoting an unnamed "top official" in the government of Maharashtra (one of India’s states). [1]
_clip.png)
[edit] Parties
[edit] Supporting claim
- Rep. Michele Bachmann, Republican, Minnesota [2]
- TK
[edit] Denying claim
- Geoff Morrell, Pentagon Press Secretary [3]
- Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary
[edit] Background
[edit] Previous presidential trips
From FactCheck.org:
- ...we have figures from a 1999 report by the U.S. General Accounting Office — now called the Government Accountability Office. The GAO said that Clinton’s trips to Africa, Chile and China in 1998 cost at least $42.8 million, $10.5 million and $18.8 million, respectively — not counting the still-classified cost of providing Secret Service protection.
- In Africa, Clinton was accompanied by about 1,300 individuals — not including members of the Secret Service — representing the White House, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. The president visited six countries in 12 days, which means the trip cost $3.6 million per day.
- Clinton made the five-day Chile trip in order to attend the second Summit of the Americas — a meeting of 34 heads of state or governments from countries in the Americas — and to hold meetings with the president of Chile. About 600 individuals accompanied the president on the trip, which we calculated would have cost $2.1 million per day.
- When Clinton visited China to conduct talks with the president of China, he brought along about 500 individuals. The trip lasted nine days, which works out to a little less than $2.1 million per day.
