AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Vice President Mike Pence has elected to stay at President Donald Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg while visiting Ireland this week, despite having to fly more than 100 miles to attend meetings in Dublin.

Pence flew from the western coast to the eastern coast of Ireland to meet with the Irish president and prime minister and various business leaders on Tuesday. He's scheduled to fly back to stay a second night at Trump's resort.

Pence's chief of staff told reporters the choice of accommodation was made at Trump's "suggestion" and that Pence and his team wouldn't be given free stays.

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Vice President Mike Pence has elected to stay at President Donald Trump's golf resort in Doonbeg while visiting Ireland this week, despite having to fly more than 100 miles to attend meetings in Dublin.

Pence arrived in Ireland on Monday and spent the night at the resort, the Irish broadcaster RTE reported. He flew from Doonbeg on Ireland's western coast to Dublin on its eastern coast to meet with the Irish president and Irish prime minister along with various business leaders on Tuesday, according to his public schedule. He's scheduled to fly back and stay a second night at Trump's property.

The choice of accommodation was made at Trump's "suggestion," Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, told reporters on Tuesday. The State Department signed off on the trip, he added, saying that Pence and his team weren't given free stays.

Short said Trump's club was the "one facility" near Doonbeg that could house Pence's team. Pence was planning to have dinner on Tuesday night at a local restaurant owned by a distant cousin. The politician worked behind the restaurant's bar during his first visit to Ireland in the 1980s, the Irish Times reported.

Trump also stayed at his Doonbeg resort during his visit to Ireland and France in June. He has been accused of promoting his personal business by frequenting his golf clubs and resorts and cashing in on the presidency by charging his entourage to stay at his properties.

The president has also been criticized over the fact that foreign dignitaries often stay in his hotels — an arrangement critics say violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution that bars the president from accepting gifts from foreign governments.

Booking a suite at Trump's Doonbeg resort costs upward of €300, or $328, a night, according to its website.

Pence traveled to Poland in Trump's stead after the president decided to remain in the US as Hurricane Dorian threatened to batter several US states. Trump played golf at his course in Virginia on Monday — his 227th day at one of his golf clubs since the start of his presidency, according to CNN.

The vice president's choice of accommodation has attracted substantial backlash on Twitter.

"While the president is making appearances at his Virginia golf club, the vice president is making appearances at his Ireland golf club," the government watchdog Citizens for Ethics tweeted. "Because the priority is always making Trump money."

"The VP is staying a 3 hour drive from Irish capital, necessitating costly helicopters, all so that his visit to Ireland can put cash in the boss's pocket," David Frum, a senior editor at The Atlantic who previously served as a speechwriter for President George W. Bush, tweeted. "Normal federal employees go to prison for such schemes."

A Pence representative told Markets Insider that Pence's team hadn't used helicopters in Ireland.

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