Outrage as extent of Trump’s ‘looting’ for personal projects exposed: ‘A cruel joke’

President Donald Trump is facing a fresh round of outrage Monday after new reporting revealed that at least $90 million in national park entry fees had been diverted to pay for the president’s Washington, D.C. beautification projects.

“Just your daily reminder that Trump is looting the Treasury!” wrote independent journalist and historian Lori Spencer Monday in a social media post on X. “It’s almost as if fighting waste, fraud, and abuse with DOGE (now disbanded) wasn’t just another empty campaign promise, it was a cruel joke – on you.”

CBS News reported Sunday night that “about 400 sites managed by the National Park Service are facing a maintenance backlog estimated at more than $24 billion,” with federal funds typically earmarked for national park maintenance being diverted by the Trump administration for projects “ahead of the America 250 celebration.”

Other outlets, such as The Guardian, have also published reports detailing recent struggles national parks have faced, such as "traffic jams and throngs of visitors” – struggles exacerbated by “strained resources.”

“Millions of Americans will visit our National Parks this summer. Donald Trump is stealing their entrance fees to pay for his own vanity projects,” wrote Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) in a social media post on X.

Trump was recently caught red-handed diverting federal funds earmarked for national parks to pay for an expensive renovation to the White House – one he previously claimed to have paid for himself.

In March, while overseeing a short White House pathway being renovated with “polished African granite, carved in Italy,” Trump was asked by CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe who would be paying for the project.

“Uh, paid for by… me,” Trump said, according to O’Keefe.

The Atlantic uncovered in late June, however, that the $689,232 renovation project had actually been paid with money earmarked for the National Park Service. The Atlantic also uncovered another $347,503 that had been directed away from the National Park Service to pay for a “rush project at request of [Trump]” to help “affix gold frames and plaques mocking some of his predecessors.”