{getMailchimp} $title={MailChimp Form} $text={Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates.}

President Trump donates first-quarter salary of $78,333 to National Park Service

According to AFP, the White House announced Monday that President Trump donated his first-quarter salary of $78,333 to the National Park Service. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to donate his $400,000 salary if he were elected. 

With some fanfare, White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced Trump had decided to donate his salary for the first quarter of 2017 to the government agency that manages parks, monuments and other conservation properties.

"It is my pleasure, on behalf of the president of the United States, to present a check for $78,333 to the secretary of the interior, Ryan Zinke," he said, amid scenes more reminiscent of a gala dinner than the White House press room.

On the campaign trail, Trump had vowed to donate his taxpayer-funded $400,000 annual salary to charity if elected. The National Park Service is not a charity, but it is the first sign Trump will hand over the cash.

The gift may be a peace offering of sorts. Trump has tangled with the agency over its tweets, which unfavorably compared the size of his inauguration crowd with that of Barack Obama's.

The National Park Service is part of the Department of the Interior, whose budget Trump has proposed cutting by more than one billion dollars.

The Sierra Club, an environmental group, called Trump's donation a "stunt."

"If Donald Trump is actually interested in helping our parks, he should stop trying to slash their budgets to historically low levels," it said.

The White House announcement came after investigative reporters at ProPublica reported Trump amended his trust -- created to curb conflicts of interest -- to make it possible to withdraw cash whenever needed.


No comments

Your comments and Encouragement are welcome