The President will to return to the United States on Saturday after his 46th international trip. Over the course of his years in office, Obama has spent a total of 193 days out of the country. And on this trip, he visited Vietnam and Japan, bringing his total number of countries visited to 101.
| Presidential Trips Abroad: Historical Data | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Trips | Visits | Number of Days |
| Bush, G.H.W. | 25 | 60 | 102 |
| Clinton | 55 | 134 | 233 |
| Bush, G.W. | 49 | 140 | 215 |
| Obama* | 46 | 101 | 193 |
| * Through May 28, 2016 | |||
Foreign travel is a necessary part of the President's job, yet, as we've noted in our ongoing log of Presidential trips abroad, there is a lack of transparency regarding the full accounting of the costs. One exception is the cost to operate Air Force One, reckoned at $180,118 per flight hour this year.
Based on flight hours estimated by TravelMath.com, NTUF calculates that it cost $7.97 million just to fly Air Force One on this trip. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg for the total costs of the trip which include expenses for all the security, logistics, and personnel involved.
| Flight | Time | Air Force One Flight Costs |
|---|---|---|
| From Andrews AFB to Anchorage, AK | 7h 16m | $1,308,857 |
| Anchorage, AK to Fussa, Japan | 7h 27m | $1,341,879 |
| Fussa, Japan to Hanoi, Vietnam | 5h 1m | $903,592 |
| Hanoi, Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 1h 54m | $342,224 |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Shima City, Japan | 5h 55m | $1,065,698 |
| Shima City, Japan to Hiroshima, Japan | 1h 23m | $249,163 |
| Hiroshima, Japan to Anchorage, AK | 8h 3m | $1,449,950 |
| Anchorage, AK to Andrews AFB | 7h 16m | $1,308,857 |
| Total Costs | $7,970,222 |
Related articles are available in our Presidential Travel archive.
Presidential Candidate Costs
We've added new cost estimates in our running tally of the Presidential candidates' spending promises. Check out CandidateCost.org to see how Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump would spend your tax dollars.
And if Trump and Sanders do agree to debate each other ahead of the June 7 California primary, NTUF will cover it live on Twitter at @NTUF.
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