Mike Pence Says Criticism of His Stay at Trump Golf Club While on State Visit Is Just ‘Political Attacks by Democrats’

A lot of people might look at Vice President Mike Pence and his entourage shoveling money into President Trump’s pockets via an expensive stay at the president’s golf club in Ireland during an official government trip and think there is something unseemly about the whole business.

Mike Pence, on the other hand, thinks it is all fine, and any concerns about the propriety of Donald Trump fleecing the taxpayers while in office are merely “political attacks by Democrats.”

Pence made the comments in a press gaggle on the lush green lawn of the residence of America’s ambassador to Ireland. Asked by Robert Costa of The Washington Post about Democrats’ criticism of his stay, Pence launched into a long, rambling monologue that covered his family’s roots in Doonbeg, the bonds between America and Ireland, and the “unique footprint” of his security detail that could apparently only be accomodated by the president’s club:

.@VP Pence in Ireland: “If you have a chance to get to Doonbeg you’ll find it’s a fairly small place, the opportunity to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel made it logical.” pic.twitter.com/yqOSjKt9M3

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 3, 2019

Pence also claimed that the State Department approved the stay, though he did not say whether he checked with any ethics offices at State or anywhere else.

The vice president has also said he is personally paying the costs of staying at the resort for his wife, mother, and other family members accompanying him on the trip. Which still does not address the money the government is spending to house his large secrurity detail and his entourage of aides, money which goes into the Trump family coffers.

Pence also did not address concerns that he spent his entire Ireland visit at Doonbeg despite the fact that the club is a three-hour drive from Dublin, where he had multiple meetings and events scheduled. Staying at Doonbeg required him to make multiple round trips to Dublin on Air Force Two, which added to the cost of the trip. To say nothing of the environmental damage of unnecessary airplane travel.

Watch Pence answer Costa’s question in the tweet embedded above.