The president claimed he’s the only commander in chief who’s donated his paycheck since George Washington. That’s not true.
Donald Trump boasted on Monday that he’s 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. I’m 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 need nor 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 didn’t 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.
Similarly, John F. Kennedy was born into wealth and prestige. When Kennedy took the oath of office in 1961, he was the richest man in history to do so. The Kennedy family fortune was valued at $1 billion, and allocated a $10 million trust fund to JFK.
Kennedy refused both his congressional salary from the House and Senate and his presidential salary, though he kept his $50,000 expense account for “public entertaining he must do as President.”
Kennedy replicated the decision Hoover made three decades earlier, donating his salary to charity. The largest recipients were the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts of America, the United Negro College Fund and the Cuban Families Committee.
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Trump has made a show of giving away his paycheck, donating his salary to the National Park Service, the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, the Surgeon General’s office and the Department of Agriculture.
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Trump claimed today that he's the only president who's donated his paycheck since George Washington. That's not truehttps://t.co/aoDCBuVF9z
— POLITICO (@politico) October 21, 2019
Notice the government entities which benefit from Trump’s generosity. I wonder where that money actually goes. Why not a real, worthy, legitimate charity?
And the claim that Trump’s losing money being president is hogwash, IMO. He is benefitting greatly from this reality tv presidency gig. Trump only does what benefits Trump. If he wasn’t making money, I doubt he would run again for president. Make America Great Again? Nah. More like Make Trump Wealthier Again.
I’m wondering what the quid pro quo is for getting the money?
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