HOUSTON — A post circulating on Facebook reads, “President (Donald) Trump just donated his 400-thousand-dollar salary again, this time for rebuilding military cemeteries. Why wasn’t this in the news?”
The president does in fact donate his salary to worthy causes, but this post is false.
The White House and several federal agencies were KHOU 11’s source to verify the claim.
For his first three years in office, President Trump donated his $400,000 salary each quarter to different agencies. Each has received $100,000.
The White House provided a list of every recipient through the third quarter of last year:
2017:
- Q1: NPS (Dept. of Interior)
- Q2: Dept. of Ed
- Q3: HHS
- Q4: Transportation
2018:
- Q1: VA
- Q2: SBA
- Q3: NIH
- Q4: DHS
2019
- Q1: USDA
- Q2: Surgeon General
- Q3: OASH
National and local media outlets have reported where President Trump's presidential salary has gone over the last three years.
A USDA spokesperson said, “President Trump’s 2019 first quarter salary donation went to USDA’s Office of Partnerships & Public Engagement (OPPE), which manages outreach for 1890 and 1994 land-grant universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, youth, veterans, women, new and beginning farmers, faith-based organizations, etc.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also confirmed the Office of Surgeon General and the Office of Assistant Secretary for Health each received $100,000 from the president’s salary in 2019.
However, according to the White House, none of the donations made so far have been earmarked for rebuilding military cemeteries.
Although President Trump has made good on his campaign promise to donate 100 percent of his president’s salary, KHOU 11 can verify the viral post is false.
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