John,

In July, President Trump spent four days in Scotland to promote his golf courses—and it cost American taxpayers $10 million.

This was just the latest troubling example of how Trump uses the guise of official state business to promote his own lucrative enterprises while blurring the distinction between the two.

The public needs to know how much of their money is being spent to promote Trump-branded businesses.

That’s why CREW is requesting records for all State Department expenditures at Trump-owned properties since January 2025, to give the American public the answers they deserve.

While in Scotland, Trump met with the Scottish First Minister, British Prime Minister and European Commission President, but these meetings weren’t the center of his trip.

Instead, Trump’s visit looked more like a promotional trip with political meetings tacked on. He spent the majority of his time at his golf courses, and visited just two weeks before his new golf course opened in Aberdeen

This is far from the first time that Trump has blurred the line between politics and business promotion.

In 2018, during his first term, the State Department spent $234,000 on Trump’s visit to his Turnberry resort in Scotland, and in 2020, it spent $600,000 on the limousine service to ferry Vice President Mike Pence from Trump’s resort in Ireland all the way across the country to his meetings in Dublin.

Given Trump’s repeated abuse of power for his own profiteering, it’s crucial that the American public knows how much of their taxpayer money is being spent to promote Trump’s businesses.

CREW has been investigating, exposing, and holding Trump accountable for years, but going up against a former president with deep pockets and a long history of corruption takes serious resources.

Thank you,

CREW HQ