President Joe Biden announced in October that he would be going after junk fees. One example of these – the resort fee – has been making a fortune for former President Donald Trump, per a report.
The president has announced his intention to run for a second term in the Oval Office. It looks like Trump, who is far ahead of the other potential GOP candidates at the polls, will run against him again after being defeated in 2020.
Biden described junk fees as “those hidden charges that companies sneak into your bill to make you pay more because they can,” this fall. He said the Competition Council created to promote competition across the economy and lower costs for families has been tasked with tackling these fees.
According to a Daily Beast report, at least three Trump hotels charge guests a “resort fee” that covers what it calls “an array of unspecified amenities.” This fee only shows up at the end of the online reservation process, the report added.
It said that an ocean view room at the Trump International Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii (which can go for around $499) includes a daily resort fee of $125. Trump’s golf resort property in Doral, Fla., charges a $135 resort fee. Even the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev., has a $132 room fee even though it “was built on a three-acre parking lot and doesn’t have the sprawling features and amenities of a typical resort there.”
Former Democrat Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts told the Daily Beast in an interview that Biden needs to find ways to help Americans save money ahead of the 2024 election. Although the president has touted the success of his “Bidenomics” program, high inflation coming off the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve Bank have made things financially challenging for many Americans during his term.
Gallup poll results released this week found that just 32% of Americans support how Biden has handled the economy. His overall approval rating was tied with his personal low at 37%.
“Going after junk fees makes great sense from that standpoint,” Frank said.
According to The Daily Beast, comments the Biden campaign made to the outlet mark the first time they’ve used the junk fees crackdown as a an “explicit election attack” on the Trump campaign.
“Joe Biden working to eliminate the sky-high junk fees Donald Trump greedily charges guests at his failing hotels perfectly encapsulates the difference in their values,” Biden campaign spokesperson T.J. Ducklo told The Daily Beast. “It’s Scranton vs Park Ave., middle class vs. the billionaire class and it’s why voters can’t trust Trump in the White House to fight for them.”
Per the Daily Beast, the Trump campaign and Trump Organization did not return a request for comment. In an opinion piece this week, Trump attacked the way Biden has handled the economy and claimed Biden was at fault for young Americans not wanting to start families.