Donald Trump's $25m hobby – and it's American taxpayers footing the bill

It can be argued that US presidents never have time off but, every now and then, the sitting commander-in-chief needs time to wind down.

Since taking charge of the Oval Office in January, Donald Trump has paid multiple visits to his luxury hotel and golf resort in Mar-a-Lago along the West Palm Beach in Florida.

In the 14 weekends that have elapsed since Trump became president on 20 January, seven of those have been spent at his Florida resort.

According to the US Government Accountability Office, each of his trips to the resort cost around $3.6m (£2.8m) – bringing the total costs so far, for just the Florida visits, to $25m.

Obama, by contrast, spent just under $97m on travel in his eight years as president, according to documents reviewed by Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog.

These trips included personal trips, such as ski trips to Aspen and the Obama's annual family vacation in Martha's Vineyard, and work trips, such as his visit to Everglades National Park on Earth Day in 2015.

Trump's frequent weekend travel makes it all but certain that the 45th president will surpass Obama's spending in his first term, likely within months.

Feeding a senior citizen through the Meals on Wheels service in the US costs $2,765 a year, just one of the areas that President Trump is looking into cutting.

The $25m of Mar-a-Lago expense could provide 9,000 people with Meals on Wheels for an entire year.

It should be noted, however, that the resort has acted as a 'Winter White House', hosting dignitaries and officials such as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Chinese Premier Xi Jinping.

Almost all the trips have involved several rounds of golf, something which Trump criticised his predecessor for doing too often.

"I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf," Trump said at one campaign rally in Virginia, in August 2016.

It remains to be seen if Mr Trump's expensive habits will continue as temperatures soar in Florida over the summer months.