Trump rally cost Phoenix taxpayers $450K: report

President Trump’s campaign-style rally in Phoenix last month could cost taxpayers $450,000 as the city pays its employees overtime for manning the large event, AZCentral.com reported Tuesday.

A widespread police presence outside the Phoenix Convention Center was the largest cost, totaling $336,887 to have police ensure the president’s safety, control protest crowds and address any other security concerns while hosting Trump.

“We do what it takes to protect the president of the United States when he visits Phoenix,” Mayor Greg Stanton (D) told the news outlet.

{mosads}The Fire Department and city employees working overtime to oversee street transportation, water services and other public works at the rally also had pricey additional costs, racking the total up to about $450,000, according to the report.

While Trump’s campaign paid about $50,000 for the venue and indoor security, he was not charged for the additional costs associated with his visit, City Manager Ed Zuercher reportedly told another local news outlet last month, adding that this would be the case too for other visiting candidates.

Zuercher said he felt it wouldn’t be right to charge him more for the costs of police splitting up the Trump supporters and protest groups.

“You can’t dampen free speech by telling people they have to pay for free speech,” Zuercher told the news outlet.

Arizona Democratic Party spokesman Enrique Gutierrez and other critics felt differently, questioning whether it was necessary for the trip so soon after winning the presidential election.

“It’s 2017. He just won in 2016. This shouldn’t be something that the city of Phoenix should pay for,” Gutierrez told AZCentral, adding that Trump’s campaign should have reimbursed the city for the extra costs.

The city has not asked to be reimbursed and the White House has not offered, city spokeswoman Julie Watters told AZCentral in an email, saying the city has an obligation “to keep all members of the community safe.”

Arizona Republican Party spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair told the news outlet that the state is a common campaign stop for candidates and their supporters and that cities always pay for such visits.  

“The safety and security of everyone involved should be priority No. 1. There are costs associated with that — whether it be an event for the President of the United States, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Phoenix rally last October or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Tempe rally last November,” Sinclair said in a statement.

The Trump campaign did not respond to the news outlet’s requests for comment.