“At no time did the President direct our office to stay at his Doonbeg resort,” the spokesperson added.
Pence called it an “opportunity” to spend the night there, arguing that it was “logical” because Doonbeg is “a fairly small place” and the Trump golf club could “accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel.”
But the fact that Pence was traveling to Doonbeg at all has raised eyebrows The village is about 140 miles from Dublin. He has flown back and forth from Shannon, Ireland, about an hour’s drive away.
Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
In this file photo taken on June 6, 2019, Marine One, carrying US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump comes in to land at the Trump International Golf resort near the village of Doonbeg in Ireland.
“As a general matter, absent security or other serious logistical concerns, government officials stay overnight in hotels near the location of planned meetings,” John Cohen, a former homeland security department official who traveled with cabinet-level officials internationally, said. Cohen is an ABC News contributor.
Short said Tuesday an estimate of the cost to taxpayers for the stop would be provided at a later point. He said Pence was “personally paying” for his sister and mother’s expenses, according to a reporter traveling with the vice president.
(MORE: Irish prime minister makes annual visit to the White House, Capitol Hill)
Pence visited Ireland after replacing Trump in Poland for ceremonies commemorating the start of World War II, and on Wednesday he planned to continue onward to Iceland.
On Tuesday evening in Doonbeg, Pence and his family visited Morrissey’s Pub – where he worked briefly pouring pints in 1981 and which his distant cousin owns. He gestured at a nearby house where he said his great grandmother used to live, according to a reporter traveling with him. “We’re going to have a wonderful dinner,” Pence said before entering the bar.
Reporters and news cameras weren’t allowed inside.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
