German political pundits are abuzz with salacious gossip after it was revealed that the Berlin government has paid €55,000 (~$60,000) for hairstyling and make-up for former Chancellor Angela Merkel since she left office in 2021, Politico reports. Merkel gets reimbursed for such costs because she is frequently called on to attend events in her official capacity as the former leader of the European leader.
By comparison, recent FEC filings show Donald Trump’s publicly funded attempt to stay out of prison is spending $600 per day for a hairstylist for Melania Trump, who makes no official appearances and does not participate in events in her role as a candidate’s wife, a defendants’s spouse or as a former third First Lady. That’s $108,000 in the first six months of the year. The cost was written off as “strategy consulting” by the campaign that is struggling with less than $6 million cash in its coffers.