WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump donated his quarterly salary to the Department of Health and Human Services at a time when the agency is responding to the global coronavirus epidemic, the White House said Tuesday.
Trump “has pledged to donate his salary during his tenure,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said on Twitter on Tuesday. Grisham said he chose HHS to support “efforts to confront, contain and combat #Coronavirus”.
The president was criticized for his initial response to the epidemic when he appeared to contradict health officials in his own administration over the extent of the virus. At a rally last week, Trump described concerns about the virus as a “hoax,” and later declared that he was referring to the Democratic response to the epidemic.
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When he ran for office, Trump pledged not to accept his annual presidential salary of $ 400,000 if elected. But because it has to be paid under the law, it donated the payment to different sectors of the federal government. Trump has already donated his salary to the HHS, including during his first year in office.
Trump critics laughed at the gift.
“It’s a trivial gadget,” tweeted Robert Maguire, research director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “President Trump’s decision not to sell his businesses brought him $ 434 million in personal income in 2018 alone – the last year for which data is available. That’s a thousand times more than his presidential salary.”
More:President Trump donates $ 100,000 of his salary to the surgeon general’s office
Contributors: Jayne O’Donnell, David Jackson, Courtney Subramanian