President Donald Trump donated his entire $100,000 quarterly salary to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat the coronavirus.
Eric Trump tweeted a copy of the check from Trump addressed to HHS, writing, “Since this will never get reported by the media, I wanted to share a copy of this check. @realDonaldTrump is once again donating his salary back to the United States Government — This quarter, it will be donated to @HHSGov to confront, contain, and combat #Coronavirus.”
Since this will never get reported by the media, I wanted to share a copy of this check. @realDonaldTrump is once again donating his salary back to the United States Government — This quarter, it will be donated to @HHSGov to confront, contain, and combat #Coronavirus. 🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hVZsm6z1zu
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) March 3, 2020
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted: “President @realDonaldTrump made a commitment to donate his salary while in office. Honoring that promise and to further protect the American people, he is donating his 2019 Q4 salary to @HHSGov to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat #Coronavirus.”
Trump promised while campaigning for office that he would donate his salary every year that he was president and has followed through on his promise.
Trump’s donation of $100,000 to fight the coronavirus will make it even harder for his critics to keep pushing the debunked claim that he called the coronavirus a “hoax.”
The coronavirus has infected more than 90,000 people and killed well over 3,100 people worldwide, with most of the cases coming from China, where the virus originated.
Last November, Trump donated his third-quarter salary to help deal with America’s opioid epidemic.
ABC News reported, “A White House official says Trump has given the $100,000 he would be paid in the quarter to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health, which oversees federal public health offices and programs, including the surgeon general’s office … Trump is required to be paid, but he has pledged to donate his salary while in office to worthy causes.”
Last August, Trump donated his second-quarter salary to the Office of the Surgeon General. In March 2019,Trump posted a photo on Twitter of a check for $100,000 to the Department of Homeland Security. He tweeted, “While the press doesn’t 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 didn’t do it there would be hell to pay from the FAKE NEWS MEDIA!”
According to the administration, parts of Trump’s salary 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 in Maryland. 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.
In October 2018, Trump donated his salary to a new Small Business Administration initiative to help veteran entrepreneurs. DefenseNews.com reported:
Agency officials plan to use the money to launch a new seven-month training program for transitioning troops looking at starting their own businesses. The program will be based on the existing Emerging Leaders Initiative, but tailored to veteran-specific needs.
The existing program includes classroom instruction as well as “opportunities for small business owners to work with experienced coaches and mentors, attend workshops, and develop connections.”