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On The Daily Show with Trevor Noah earlier this week, the mayor of Albuquerque, NM said the city has sent an unpaid bill of $211,000 it levied on the Trump campaign to a collections agency. The bill stems from a 2019 rally held by then President Donald Trump. Although the rally was held in the neighboring city of Rio Rancho, Trump and his team stayed a hotel in downtown Albuquerque. Mayor Tim Keller told The Daily Show’s Jordan Klepper that the high security costs and general disruption associated with Trump’s stay prompted the city to bill the campaign.
“No phone calls have been returned, so we hired a collection agency,” said Keller. “He should be getting these annoying voicemails like we usually get from scam companies where it’s like ‘You owe debts.’ I mean, I think Mar-a-Lago is now getting those calls.
On Thursday, The Albuquerque Journal reported the bill is actually just a shade over $211,000. The city of Rio Rancho, which is where the
It’s not unusual for municipalities to seek reimbursements from political campaign for events they’ve held. It’s also not unusual for those bills to go unpaid because there are no real rules that determine who pays. A report in Minnesota’s Star Tribune during the 2016 presidential campaign noted that cities and towns often have to come up with the money themselves. Bills sometimes do get paid either partially or at least in full. The Star Tribune reported that after a 2014 event in St. Louis County attended by then Vice President Joe Biden, the county billed the Obama administration for the security it provided for the venue. The attempt was successful, as the administration paid the county with grant money from the U.S. Border Patrol.