Every four years there seem to be complaints - no matter which party is in power in the White House - about the travel schedule of a President and whether more of the tab should be picked up by the President's party or re-election campaign.

And this year is no different.

In the past two weeks, President Obama has made a pair of stops in Florida and one in Ohio, two important swing states in any race for the White House - and those happen to be the two states that Mr. Obama has visited the most since taking office.

As for how much a political party or campaign pays back Uncle Sam for trips that are more campaign-oriented, those kind of details are difficult to come by, one reason that when the subject came up at the White House briefing on Thursday, it led to some pointed exchanges between White House Press Secretary Jay Carney and ABC News reporter Jake Tapper, who also drew support from CBS News reporter Mark Knoller at one point.

Here is the text of that exchange, starting with Tapper's question:

Every four years there seem to be complaints - no matter which party is in power in the White House - about the travel schedule of a President and whether more of the tab should be picked up by the President's party or re-election campaign. And this year is no ...

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC