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Did Trump Donate His Salary

Trump Botches A Boast About Giving Away His Presidential Salary

Tracking Trumps Promises: Is he donating his presidential salary?

The president claimed he’s the only commander in chief who’s donated his paycheck since George Washington. That’s not true.

10/21/2019 03:47 PM EDT

Donald Trump boasted on Monday that hes the only other president besides George Washington to forgo his paycheck but history is not on his side.

I give away my presidential salary, Trump told reporters at a gathering of his Cabinet. They say no other president has done it. Im surprised, to be honest with you. They say George Washington may have been the only other president to do that. See whether or not Obama gave up his salary. See whether or not all of the other of your favorites, your other favorites gave up their salary. The answer is no.

A wealthy landowner and Revolutionary War commander, Washington said he did not need or want to get paid to lead the executive branch. While he did not accept a salary for his military service, he ultimately accepted $25,000 for his presidential duties because the Constitution mandates the president receive a salary.

Trump also didnt have his historical facts straight when saying no other commander in chief gave up their presidential paycheck.

Thirty-first president Herbert Hoover was the first American executive in chief to refuse a salary. Hoover was a multimillionaire before assuming office from a previous career as an engineer and businessman and donated his paycheck to charitable causes.

Herbert Hoover also declined his presidential salary.|AP Photo

Did Trump Follow His Pledge To Donate The Last 6 Months Of His Presidential Pay Its A Mystery

Donald Trump promised to give away his $400,000 presidential salary. And he kept that promise, publicly announcing each gift at least, for his first 3½ years in office.

Then, in the middle of last year, the announcements stopped.

Trumps White House never said where or even if he donated the last $220,000 of his salary, covering the final six months of 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021.

Now, six months after he left office, its not clear where Trump donated that remaining salary or if he donated it at all.

Trump gave all his previous donations to federal agencies, paying out $100,000 every quarter. But The Washington Post surveyed all major federal agencies, and none has reported receiving anything from Trump after a gift in July 2020.

The Post also asked for confirmation of the gifts from Trumps business and from the lawyer who helped arrange the donations. Neither responded. At Trumps post-presidential office, a spokeswoman promised to seek answers and then stopped responding to questions.

The dollar amount of these potential donations is small, in comparison to both the federal budget and to Trumps personal holdings.

But the lack of information about them raises questions about a promise that was key to Trumps self-image. He talked about these donations repeatedly as president at the White House and on the campaign trail often saying he did not get enough credit for the sacrifices he made.

Trump Donates Part Of His Salary To Department Of Homeland Security

President Donald Trump said Monday that hes donating part of his annual presidential salary to the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump posted a photo on Twitter of a check for $100,000 one quarter of his annual $400,000 salary made out to DHS.

While the press doesnt like writing about it, nor do I need them to, I donate my yearly Presidential salary of $400,000.00 to different agencies throughout the year, this to Homeland Security. If I didnt do it there would be hell to pay from the FAKE NEWS MEDIA! the President tweeted.

Although Trump pledged to donate his salary to DHS, federal regulations prohibit agencies from accepting donated funds unless Congress grants authority to the agency to accept the donation. Without congressional authorization, donated money is deposited into the general fund of the Department of Treasury.

Since taking office, Trump has donated his salary to a series of government agencies and efforts. Parts of his salary, according to the administration, have gone toward government efforts including combating opioid addiction, a camp promoting science, technology, engineering and math careers, and restoration projects at Antietam National Battlefield.

He has previously donated to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Transportation, the National Park Service, the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

CNNs Kevin Liptak, Nikki Carvajal and Devan Cole contributed to this report.

Also Check: What’s The Latest On Donald Trump

Trump Donates 2019 Salary To Usda Surgeon General

President Donald Trump continues to maintain his campaign promise to donate his $400,000 annual White House salary with U.S. government agencies.

In August, a White House spokesman announced that Trump donated $100,000, his second-quarter salary, to the U.S. Surgeon General’s office.

“I donate 100% of my President’s salary, $400,000, back to our Country, and feel very good about it!” Trump tweeted Aug. 16.

His first-quarter salary in 2019 went to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Trump donated his third quarter salary for 2018 to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Trump’s older brother Fred Jr. died after struggling from alcoholism in 1981.

The president donated his 2018 fourth quarter salary to the Department of Homeland Security and has donated to various federal entities during his time in office, including the National Park Service, the Department of Education and the Veterans Administration.

This pledge remains Promise Kept.

Katie Sanders contributed to this report.

A Major Chunk Of Trump’s Salary Is Unaccounted For

Trump didnt donate salary to rebuild military cemeteries, but he ...

The Washington Post points out that if, in fact, the missing salary which comes to $220,000 for July through December of 2020 and the first 20 days of 2021 was donated, Donald Trump would have publicly announced the donation, which he did during the first three and a half months of his term in office.

For instance, we know that his first-quarter salary went to the National Park Service and that his second-quarter salary went to the Department of Education. Subsequent paychecks were directed to other recipients like the Department of Health and Human Services the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Department of Homeland Security . But both Forbes and The Washington Post say the trail goes cold after the July 2020 donation to the National Parks Service.

Even if Trump was handing off his salary, he could not say he wasn’t making any money during his time in office. Until the pandemic struck, the Trump Organization was making money at Trump-branded hotels including the property in Washington DC, and on office buildings like New York’s Trump Tower .

Recommended Reading: What Time Is Trump On Tv Tonight

Where Did The Last Six Months Of Trump’s Salary Go

While campaigning in 2016, former President Donald Trump promised voters that he would donate his presidential salary, which came to $400,000 a year before taxes, according to Forbes. Interestingly, by law, presidents are actually not allowed to decline a salary so the traditional protocol is to take it then donate it to a selected charity. This is what Trump did for the first three and a half years in office. Every quarter, Trump donated $100,000 to a federal agency. For example, as The Washington Post notes, in April 2017, Trump donated a quarterly amount to the National Park Service to restore historic battlefields.

The outlet has documentation for each of Trump’s quarterly donations … up until his last six months. From July 2020 until Jan. 20 of this year, there is no record of Trump giving the final portion of his salary away. In fact, The Washington Post said they asked “federal agencies, and none has reported receiving anything from Trump after a gift in July 2020.” To be fair, the outlet notes that there are more than 600 federal agencies so Trump’s donation might have gone to a lesser-known location. However, none have stepped forward publicly.

Trump was not the first president to donate his salary. As Forbes notes, John F. Kennedy, as well as Herbert Hoover, gave their salaries away. That said, the “third and fourth quarters of 2020” as Forbes wrote, are still a mystery.

No Phony Pretext For Mar

Claim: There could be no more vivid example of the very real threats from American freedom than just a few weeks ago, you saw it, when we witnessed one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history. The shameful raid and break in of my home, Mar-a-Lago, was a travesty of justice that made a mockery of Americas laws, traditions, and principles before the entire world. On a phony pretext, getting permission from a highly political magistrate who they hand-picked late in the evening, just days before the break in, and trampled upon my rights and civil liberties as if our country, that we love so much, were a Third World nation. Can you believe it?

Facts: There was no phony pretext for the search warrant, which was approved by a federal magistrate judge in Florida on Aug. 5 and lawfully executed by the FBI on Aug. 8. The timeline of events shows that government records, some of them highly classified, were taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, and Trump repeatedly thwarted efforts by the National Archives and Records Administration to recover them.

These were the reasons that the DOJ sought, obtained and executed a search warrant contrary to Trumps claim about it being the result of a phony pretext and a desperate effort to distract from Joe Bidens record of misery and failure.

Also Check: Why Is Trump Getting Impeached

Did Donald Trump Actually Donate His Entire Presidential Salary

Former President Donald Trump doesn’t stop making headlines, even after he’s left the White House. But why would he? If there were one, signature trait from his period of holding public office, it was his penchant for remaining in the spotlight, for better or worse. Even after being replaced by President Joe Biden, Trump is back at it, fighting to stay in the public eye.

There’s likely one more reason Trump hasn’t faded into the Florida sunset. He might be coming back. There is substantial evidence that Trump isn’t finished with politics. . So it’s not totally farfetched to imagine that Trump will run again in 2024 this is also the wish of many Republican voters .

So while we’re looking ahead to the future and how much it will involve Trump, there’s also reason to pause and look back at his time in office, namely around one of the big promises he made: giving away his presidential salary. However, it looks like Trump didn’t hold true to his promise. Read on for more.

Trump Distorts Facts In Pennsylvania Rally

White House: Trump donated salary check to opioid crisis

As the Department of Justice investigates his handling of highly classified documents, former President Donald Trump spoke for nearly two hours in a rally in Pennsylvania that was filled with false, exaggerated and misleading statements:

Trump made his remarks Sept. 3 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at a campaign rally for the states Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate. The rally came less than a month after FBI agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.

Recommended Reading: What Did Donald Trump Do To Get Impeached

Trump Still Earns Money

Trump still profits off property he owns, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington and Trump Tower in New York. He also earns money from the rights to a U.K. television spinoff of “The Apprentice” and various properties in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Scotland and the Philippines. So imprecise claims that Trump works for no money are not totally accurate.

Democratic lawmakers are appealing a case against the president because they believe that this profiting, combined with the fact that his hotels have reportedly been frequented by foreign diplomats from around the world since his term began, as The Hill reported, violates the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses of the Constitution.

The foreign emoluments clause states that no government official can receive gifts from king, prince or foreign state. The domestic emoluments similarly says the president cannot receive any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

For example, the New York Times reported the government of Kuwait spent tens of thousands of dollars on a gala at the Trump International Hotel in Washington from which Trump profited. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns a floor and pays thousands of dollars a year in common charges for building amenities at the Trump World Tower in New York, from which Trump also profits.

More:4 things to know about the tell-all-book by President Trump’s niece

Trump Has Donated His Presidential Salary

Trump is not the first president to donate his salary. Former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover, both wealthy before they took office, donated all their earnings. Forbes reports Trumps net worth as of July 9 at $2.1 billion, making him the first president to be a billionaire.

When Trump announced his decision to forgo a salary, critics expressed doubt because presidents are required to be compensated for their work. To get around this, Trump takes $1 each year from his paychecks.

According to news coverage and White House news releases, Trump has written checks equal to a quarter of his $400,000 annual salary every quarter to various government agencies:

2017

Trump and his constituents have not yet announced where he will donate his salary for the first and second quarters of 2020.

The president came under scrutiny for donating $100,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services after proposing a 10% budget cut totaling billions of dollars. Hes also proposed cuts totaling amounts larger than his donations for the National Parks Service and the Department of Education.

More:Fact check: US government did not engineer COVID-19

Recommended Reading: What Has Trump Done To Help The Economy

President Donald Trump Probably Donated His Entire $16m Salary Back To The Us Government Here Are The Details

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address … in the House chamber on February 4, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump is delivering his third State of the Union address on the night before the U.S. Senate is set to vote in his impeachment trial.

Getty Images

The President of the United States makes $400,000 annually, before taxes. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump promised to donate his salary if elected President. It was a promise, even his critics acknowledge, that Trump was keeping.

The presidential salary is a requirement of the U.S. Constitution in Article II, Section 1, Clause 7 and the specific amount is set by Congress. Presidents are not legally allowed to decline their salary, but can donate it to organizations of their choosing.

Trump is the first president since John F. Kennedy to donate his salary. Both John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover donated their presidential salaries to charitable causes. According to congressional records, George Washington initially declined his $25,000 salary, but Congress wouldnt let him.

Trumps first-quarter 2017 salary donation to the National Park Service was for $78,333, likely his take-home pay after taxes. The Park Service said an anonymous donor gave $22,000 to round the donation up to $100,000.

In subsequent press events, Trump presented personal checks for an even $100,000, indicating he was dipping into his own personal finances to make up the difference himself.

Russia Investigation Triggered By Trump Campaign Aide

Donald Trump botches boast about giving away his presidential salary ...

Claim: I tell this story on occasion, very seldom, because its too sad to tell, but I tell this story because its very important. Russia, Russia, Russia was a hoax. It was developed by Hillary Clinton and a group of people, small group around a kitchen table, as a way of explaining why she lost an election that a lot of people thought she would win.

Facts: This is revisionist history. The hoax that Trump colluded with the Russians was not developed by Hillary Clinton and a group of people.

Here are the facts: In July 2016, the FBI began investigating the Russian governments attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, including whether Trumps campaign associates were involved in those efforts. As explained in the DOJ inspector generals report in December 2019, the investigation of Trumps campaign was triggered when a Friendly Foreign Government, an Australian diplomat, learned from George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, that the Russians had damaging information on Clinton.

The investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller resulted in 37 indictments or guilty pleas including against 26 Russians and three Russian companies, as summarized by Vox. A redacted report written by Muellers office detailed how the Russians carried out an extensive social media campaign and targeted cyberattacks against Clinton and the Democratic Party committees to damage Clinton and help Trump.

Read Also: When Is Trumps Next Rally

Facebook And Hunter Biden

Claim: Weirdo Mark Zuckerberg confessed that in 2020, the FBI went to Facebook and the media and gave them the false narrative that the Hunter Biden laptop from hell was Russian disinformation, even though they knew that was not true. So they went and they said it was Russian disinformation.

Facts: Thats not what Zuckerberg said. In an interview with Joe Rogan on Aug. 25, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that prior to the 2020 presidential election Facebook downgraded the distribution of posts about Hunter Bidens laptop. Zuckerberg said the decision to do that came after the FBI warned members of the Facebook team, Hey, um, just so you know, like, you should be on high alert. There was the we thought that there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election. We have it on notice that basically theres about to be some kind of dump of thats similar to that. So just be vigilant. Zuckerberg said the FBI did not warn specifically about stories about Hunter Bidens laptop, but Facebook determined those stories basically fit the pattern.

Meta put out a statement saying that nothing Zuckerberg shared in that interview was new, that Zuckerberg had said the same thing in an October 2020 interview with Sen. Ron Johnson.

The FBI shared general warnings about foreign interference nothing specific about Hunter Biden, the Meta statement said.

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