Donald Trump’s New York trip for UFC fight cost taxpayers more than $250,000, records show

REVEALED: Trump’s spur-of-the-moment 2019 overnight trip to New York for a UFC fight cost taxpayers more than $250,000 – and he got booed!

  • Donald Trump visited New York for one-night for a UFC fight in November 2019
  • The trip reportedly cost taxpayers more than $250,000, according to records
  • The Secret Service were said to have only been given one week’s notice for visit
  • Hotel rooms for Secret Service agents at ritzy city hotels cost a total of $224,212
  • While a further $22,005.51 was said to have been spent on travel for the agents


Donald Trump’s last minute visit to New York for a mixed martial arts fight back in 2019 cost taxpayers more than $250,000, according to federal records.

The former US president, 74, visited Manhattan for one night to watch an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden on November 2, 2019.

The Secret Service were only given one week’s notice for Trump’s spur-of-the-moment trip and it cost taxpayers more than $250,000 in total, according to records obtained by the New York Daily News.

Trump attended the mixed martial arts title fight with his sons Donald Jr and Eric , longtime friend UFC President Dana White, a group of Republican lawmakers and a large security detail.

Donald Trump, 74, attended Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden (pictured centre with Kevin McCarthy [left] and son Eric [right]) on November 2, 2019

The Secret Service were only given one week's notice for Trump's spur-of-the-moment trip (pictured at the MMA fight) and it cost taxpayers more than $250,000, according to records

The Secret Service were only given one week’s notice for Trump’s spur-of-the-moment trip (pictured at the MMA fight) and it cost taxpayers more than $250,000, according to records

The visit, which coincided with the busy weekend of the New York City Marathon, saw the Secret Service reportedly forced to find hotel rooms quickly for dozens of agents protecting Trump.

The publication said an internal email from just three days before Trump’s arrival saw a Secret Service sergeant suggest that the hotel reservations were made at the last minute.

It read: ‘Things could change some. I don’t have any information about hotels yet.’

Hotel rooms for the Secret Service cost $224,212, with agents staying in the likes of the Royalton on Park Avenue, the Intercontinental on 48th Street and Times Square’s Marriot Marquis, where the rooms totaled $44,402, records reportedly showed.

Another $22,005.51 was said to have been spent on travel expenses to allow agents to travel in and out of the city during Trump’s visit, according to receipts.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service spent $6,350 on ‘tents’ for security checkpoints to set up near Trump Tower, where the then-president stayed overnight after the MMA fight.

The last-minute visit (pictured: Trump watching MMA fight on November 2, 2019) saw the Secret Service forced to find hotel rooms quickly for agents protecting Trump

The last-minute visit (pictured: Trump watching MMA fight on November 2, 2019) saw the Secret Service forced to find hotel rooms quickly for agents protecting Trump

Hotel rooms for the Secret Service cost $224,212, with agents staying in the likes of the Royalton on Park Avenue, the Intercontinental on 48th Street (pictured)

Hotel rooms for the Secret Service cost $224,212, with agents staying in the likes of the Royalton on Park Avenue, the Intercontinental on 48th Street (pictured)

The last-minute visit saw the Secret Service forced to find hotel rooms quickly for dozens of agents protecting Trump, with rooms at the Marriott Marquis (pictured) costing $44,402

The last-minute visit saw the Secret Service forced to find hotel rooms quickly for dozens of agents protecting Trump, with rooms at the Marriott Marquis (pictured) costing $44,402

The entire trip, which saw Trump stay in the city less than 16 hours, was said to have cost $252,567.51. But the records were reportedly heavily redacted, meaning the total could have been much higher.

MailOnline has contacted Donald Trump’s representatives for comment.

The 2019 trip was Trump’s first visit to New York after he announced that he was moving his permanent residence from Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

The one-night stay came as the House of Representatives were investigating him as part of his first impeachment, while dozens of protesters greeted him at Madison Square Garden.

As Trump entered the arena for the event, which featured a much-anticipated fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, he was met with boos from UFC fans.

He was the first president of the United States to attend an MMA fight during his term, and it came days after he watched part of Game 5 of the World Series.