Members of President Donald Trump’s exclusive Mar-a-Lago club get more than the occasional drop-by and views of the occasional high-level national security meeting – some also got to enjoy tours of Air Force One.
At least 14 people took part in a pair of tours of the famous presidential aircraft in February 2017, government records obtained by Buzzfeed confirmed.
The tours were held at the private air hub at Palm Beach International Airport during one of the many times in his presidency when Trump was staying at his club. In this case, it was hours before Trump held a campaign rally.
Among those attending, based on partial email addresses attached to the records, was a family that owned a local Florida car dealership. Joe Arrigo and his sons Jim and John are Mar-a-Lago members as well as the golf club where Trump hits the links when he stays there.
Mar-a-Lago members got to tour the presidential aircraft, government documents reveal
Members pay $200,000 each year to belong to Mar-a-Lago, an amount that doubled after Trump’s election.
The tours of the taxpayer-funded aircraft aren’t the only possible perks for club members. Trump has also crashed multiple Mar-a-Lago weddings and has spent a third of his presidency at private properties he owns.
When the weather warms, Trump heads north to his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Mar-a-Lago members pay dues of $200,000 per year to the Trump Organization owned property
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania arrive on Air Force One, Sunday, July 8, 2018, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Washington as they return from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
INSIDE VIEW: President Donald Trump prepares his traditionnal adress to thank members of the US military via video teleconference on Thanksgiving day, November 23, 2017 from his residence in Mar-a-Lago in Florida.n nThe US President is spending the Thanksgiving holidays in his Florida private residence until November 2
NICKEL TOUR: President Donald Trump poses in his office aboard Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland after he returned from Philadelphia on January 26, 2017
The White House defended the practice last year, without precisely confirming it, after the publication obtained an invitation sent out by an Air Force pilot.
‘It is common for friends/family of the President to receive tours of Air Force One,’ said Stephanie Grisham, now a spokesman for First Lady Melania Trump.
‘This is something that has been done in past administrations going back years and is not out of the ordinary,” she added, saying if the invite went to longstanding club members, ‘then they are also most likely longtime friends of the President. You have to keep in mind that Mar-a-Lago has been the President’s home for many years.’