Vice President Mike Pence, his wife Karen and their entourage had meetings in Dublin this week, so as we reported, on Monday night they all stayed more than a hundred miles away at a Trump golf resort on the opposite side of the country in the small town of Doonbeg. The question to Pence’s chief of staff Mark Short was, did Donald Trump ask Pence to stay there?

Pence chief @marcshort45 on whether Trump asked Pence to stay at his property in Doonbeg, Ireland — via @costareports, who is doing a terrific job pooling the VP’s trip to Europe pic.twitter.com/utkQ56X6RB

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) September 3, 2019

But is it really about the Secret Service or is it about enriching Donald Trump?

two questions for a congressional oversight committee

1) How much will the decision to commute by air between Trump property and Pence's appointments in Dublin cost the taxpayer?

2) How much will the (troubled) Trump property in Ireland be paid by the taxpayer? https://t.co/S1s7CzOHWK

— David Frum (@davidfrum) September 3, 2019

The New York Times is reporting Pence has personally paid for his rooms, but what about the advance team, staff, Secret Service? Pence didn’t say when faced reporters in Dublin.

.@VP Pence in Ireland: "If you have a chance to get to Doonbeg you'll find it's a fairly small place, the opportunity to stay at Trump National in Doonbeg, to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel made it logical." pic.twitter.com/yqOSjKt9M3

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 3, 2019

Meanwhile, the Daily Beast is reporting Pence’s PAC has spent plenty at Trump properties:

“Since 2017, Pence’s political group, the Great America Committee, has dropped about $224,000 at Trump properties, chiefly the Trump International Hotel in Washington and its on-site steakhouse, according to Federal Election Commission records maintained by ProPublica.“