When former President Donald Trump was elected to the United States' highest position, he said he would be donating his entire salary. However, it now appears that the president did not donate the last six months of his salary, according to the Washington Post.
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The president of the United States makes $400,000 a year and is not allowed to decline their paycheck. George Washington attempted to decline his $25,000 salary, but congress would not let him.
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Trump was not the first president to donate his salary, but he was the first since John F. Kenedy did. Both Kennedy and Herbert Hoover donated their salaries to charitable causes.
In 2017 Trump announced his first donation to the National Park Service of $78,333. After that, Trump made his announcement public for every other donation until he hit his final six months.
Trump's White House never said where or if he donated the last $220,000 he made while president. Even six months after he has left office, the information is still not known.
The donations were mentioned by Trump often at the White House and during his campaign.
"It's a lot of money. Whether you're rich or not, it's a lot of money. And I did it, and nobody cared. Nobody — nobody said, 'Thank you.' Nobody said, 'Thank you very much,'" Trump said in March 2020.
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There were 13 total donations made of $100,000 to eight different Cabinet departments. The last donation that can be confirmed was on July 23, 2020, according to the Post.
The money was given to the Park Service again, "to support its efforts in repairing and restoring our national monuments," a letter to Trump's attorney Sheri Dillon sent the Park Service along with the check said.
Following that gift, there was no public announcement for other donations. He did, however, continue to talk about the previous donations and his frustration that it was not more often talked about.
"I'm the only president that did not accept a salary, which surprised me. It’s $450,000. The only reason I mention it is they never talk about it," Trump said during a campaign rally in Arizona in October 2020.
He went on to say that "They never write about that. If I ever didn't give it up, there would be headlines, 'Trump refused.'"
The Post contacted 15 major federal departments, and none of them responded for comment. The publication acknowledged that this is not proof it was not done, but due to the previous donations being made public, it is a mystery whether or not the last donation was made.
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