Donald Trump reportedly enjoys playing the generous host when Secret Service agents accompany him around his Virginia golf course—but the president may not be the person paying for the food he offers them.

According to a former employee quoted by Forbes, Trump frequently stops at a snack stand near the 11th hole of Trump National Golf Club in Lowes Island and orders hot dogs for the agents protecting him.

The gesture initially sounds hospitable.

Trump allegedly praises the food, summons the club’s chef and directs staff to provide hot dogs for everyone nearby.

Then, according to the former employee, the Trump-owned club bills the Secret Service—meaning the federal agency responsible for protecting the president may ultimately use taxpayer money to cover the cost.

Neither the White House nor the Secret Service immediately responded to requests for comment from the Daily Beast.

The allegation has not been independently confirmed in the supplied reporting. No invoices were presented showing the price of the hot dogs or the total amount charged.

Yet the account adds a strange new detail to a far larger controversy: the extraordinary public cost of protecting Trump while he spends time at businesses bearing his name.

Trump’s Pride in the Club’s Hot Dogs

The alleged practice centers on a snack stand beside the Virginia course’s 11th tee.

“He has this weird, very odd pride about how good the hot dogs are,” the former employee told Forbes.

According to that person’s account, Trump calls for the chef and instructs staff to feed the agents accompanying him.

“Chef, get everyone a hot dog—all these guys,” he allegedly says.

But the former employee claimed Trump does not personally pick up the bill. Instead, the club charges the Secret Service.

The precise arrangement remains unclear.

Agents protecting a president during extended travel or activities may incur legitimate meal, lodging and operational costs. What creates concern in Trump’s case is that those payments can flow into businesses owned by the person receiving federal protection.

Even a relatively inexpensive meal illustrates the unusual financial relationship: taxpayers fund the protective operation, while a Trump property potentially collects the payment.

Golf Creates Unavoidable Security Costs

Trump has made golf a regular feature of both presidencies.

Whenever he travels to one of his clubs, the Secret Service must follow. Agents require transportation, equipment, meals and sometimes lodging. Additional security arrangements may also involve local law enforcement, military aircraft and other federal resources.

Those expenses exist regardless of whether the president is working, campaigning or playing golf.

But when the destination is a Trump-owned property, government spending may benefit his private business interests.

An analysis published by HuffPost in November reportedly estimated that Trump’s golf trips during the first 10 months of his second term had cost taxpayers nearly $71 million.

If spending continued at the same pace, the analysis projected that the total could surpass $300 million by the end of his term.

That forecast is an extrapolation rather than a finalized government total. Actual costs could rise or fall depending on Trump’s future travel.

Still, it places the alleged hot-dog charges within a much larger stream of taxpayer-funded spending connected to his golf habit.

Previous Questions About Trump Properties

The former employee’s account echoes earlier controversies involving Secret Service payments to Trump-owned hotels.

An October 2024 report by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee alleged that Trump’s former Washington hotel charged the agency room rates reaching 300 percent or more above the authorized government per diem on some occasions.

Trump and his businesses have faced repeated criticism over whether government agencies should be paying premium prices at properties from which he may benefit financially.

Supporters may argue that agents need food and accommodations wherever the president travels—and that using facilities already present at his clubs is practical.

Critics respond that the president could absorb certain costs himself, offer food at no charge or ensure that government rates do not generate profit for his companies.

The hot-dog account is particularly striking because Trump allegedly presents the order as his own generous gesture before the club charges the government.

Another Weekend at Bedminster

Trump spent Labor Day weekend at his Bedminster club in New Jersey rather than the Virginia course described in the Forbes report.

The Bedminster property had received 18 health-code violations during an inspection in June, according to earlier reporting.

There is no indication that the alleged Virginia hot-dog practice occurred during the latest New Jersey trip.

The president’s regular appearances at his clubs nevertheless keep the broader financial questions alive.

Trump’s second presidency has reportedly contributed to a dramatic increase in his personal wealth. At the same time, the Secret Service continues spending public money to protect him at properties connected to his private business empire.

The agency cannot simply refuse to accompany a president because his destination creates uncomfortable financial optics. Protection is its mission.

That leaves taxpayers inside a peculiar arrangement.

Trump chooses the club. The Secret Service follows. His employees serve the food.

And, according to one former worker, the government receives the bill—even when the president makes the hot dogs sound like they are on him.