Will Keller bill Biden for $80K security tab as he did by invoicing Trump $211K?
Joe Biden’s August Albuquerque visit comes with a hefty price tag, as the City of Albuquerque reportedly spent a total of $80,231.98 on various expenses associated with the presidential visit, according to a report from Errors of Enchantment by the Rio Grande Foundation.
Expenses could include costs related to security measures, logistical arrangements, and other essential preparations to ensure a smooth and secure visit for Biden.
According to the report, it is unclear if Biden was invoiced for the security expenses.
Back when President Donald Trump visited Albuquerque for one day, Democrat Mayor Tim Keller charged the president $211,175.94 for “ security costs stemming from Trump’s overnight stay in Albuquerque before the rally in Rio Rancho on Sept. 16, 2019,” according to the Associated Press.
It is unclear why Biden’s security costs were significantly lower than that of Trump’s and why the City has not made a big fuss over forcing Biden to cover the expenses.
“I don’t really expect us to get paid,” Keller told the Daily Show at the time. “But it’s important that we do, and you know, we would do it for anyone else, so he’s no different.”
“We actually treated it like any other debt, and so it goes through a somewhat process where you send a bunch of letters out,” Keller said. “We got no response from those letters. And then automatically, it does go to an agency that helps try and collect debts.”
“Within the overall City budget of $1.3 billion both amounts are trivial and we WANT presidential candidates and presidents of BOTH parties to visit our City and State,” wrote the Rio Grande Foundation’s Paul Gessing.