Friday, August 15, 2025
Trump's summit with Putin in Alaska on Aug 15, 2025, cost taxpayers ~$2.1M for Air Force One, Secret Service, local police, and summit logistics.
ACTIVITY BREAKDOWN
Presidential roundtrip flight: Andrews AFB to Anchorage (VC-25A, domestic support)
Air Force One VC-25A flew President Trump from Andrews AFB, Maryland to Anchorage, Alaska and return (approx. 14.2 total flight hours based on published schedules and typical routing). As this is a major foreign summit involving international delegations, the support_factor is set to 0.5 per benchmarks. Calculated: 14.2 × $177,843 × 1.5 ≈ $3,795,801 for both legs. As only the outbound/inbound legs occurred on 8/15, 7.1 hrs × $177,843 × 1.5 ≈ $1,487,752 (rounded).
Secret Service and White House staff (off-site summit peak)
Security for off-site, high-visibility summits is benchmarked at $300,000/day for presidential travel per GAO. Multiple sources report a full surge of USSS/WH staff and international dignitary protection for this event.
Local law enforcement assist (Anchorage)
Anchorage Police and supporting agencies activated for presidential motorcades, crowd control, and summit security. $60,000/day as per Palm Beach 2020-2024 benchmarks and cited local reporting.
Incidentals (summit, logistics, communications, hospitality)
Incidentals for a presidential-level summit (logistics, communications, local support, White House advance, etc.) set at 15% of travel + security ($1,847,752 × 0.15 ≈ $277K) per cost cap guidelines.