On September 23, 2017, Melania took a 12-hour trip to Toronto to visit the Invictus Games. US government spending documents released reveal the First Lady’s visit cost an eye-watering £135,000 in hotel charges. Mrs Trump billed taxpayers for two hotels — the Ritz Carlton and Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel — where she held a handful of meetings but did not stay.
The meetings at both hotels lasted for less than 20 minutes.
The Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel is currently £400 per night for a premium suite.
A night at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto will set you back £402 for a standard room.
While the most expensive suite, the 2,415 square-foot Ritz-Carlton Suite, costs £5,569.
During her visit, she met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prince Harry.
Stephanie Grisham, Melania’s spokeswoman, said the £135,000 bill was normal, and it included a variety of other costs.
Ms Grisham said: “What I can tell you is that when the President or First Lady travels, there are people who travel ahead on the advance team to ensure safety measures, medical care, communications, motorcade needs and logistics are all in place.
“Mrs Trump travels with a much smaller contingent of staff than that of her predecessors, but the entities I mentioned above are legally required for all official travel.”
However, according to Quartz, the £135,000 cost covered only the hotels.
The costs for her staff and travel expenses were not included.
Mrs Trump’s trip began just after noon and she returned just after midnight to Andrews Air Force Base.
The outrageous bill dwarfed the £74,000 cost of Melania’s stop at the InterContinental Cairo Semiramis last month.
Melania is not the only Trump costing the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
It’s estimated that each of Donald Trump’s weekend trips to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida costs £780,000.
He has spent 72 days at the location since taking office.