Trump Still Earns Money
Trump still profits off property he owns, including the Trump International Hotel in Washington and Trump Tower in New York. He also earns money from the rights to a U.K. television spinoff of “The Apprentice” and various properties in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Scotland and the Philippines. So imprecise claims that Trump works for no money are not totally accurate.
Democratic lawmakers are appealing a case against the president because they believe that this profiting, combined with the fact that his hotels have reportedly been frequented by foreign diplomats from around the world since his term began, as The Hill reported, violates the foreign and domestic emoluments clauses of the Constitution.
The foreign emoluments clause states that no government official can receive gifts from king, prince or foreign state. The domestic emoluments similarly says the president cannot receive any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
For example, the New York Times reported the government of Kuwait spent tens of thousands of dollars on a gala at the Trump International Hotel in Washington from which Trump profited. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia owns a floor and pays thousands of dollars a year in common charges for building amenities at the Trump World Tower in New York, from which Trump also profits.
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How Much Does The President Make
The last three presidents elected to officeDonald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bushhave all made $400,000 a year in salary. The president also gets an additional expense allowance every year of $50,000. On top of that, they get free housing in the White House, free transportation, and free health care administrated by the private medical team available in the White House. Unsurprisingly, that puts their job in the top 1 percent of yearly salaries.
Salaries Of Former Presidents
The salaries of ex-presidents are set by the Former Presidents Act. The amount is equivalent to the salary of the head of an executive department. The other costs vary according to each president’s needs.
The General Services Administration manages the costs.
The figures stated below are from the FY 2022 budget, the most recent figures available as of April 2022.
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Claim: Donald Trump Works For No Money
As President Donald Trump receives criticism for how he has handled the coronavirus pandemic, his backers have taken to social media to show their support.
One topic that comes up is that Trump works for no money and donates the entirety of his presidential salary.
A Facebook post from May that has amassed over 100,000 shares reads: I want to thank Donald Trump for working like a dog for no money to save a country that doesnt appreciate his sacrifice! Thank you Mr. President!
Posts of that nature contain a degree of truth, but are misleading.
Trump, as promised during his campaign, does write checks to various agencies equivalent to a quarter of his annual salary every quarter. But this does not mean he earns no money.
This notion is misleading because Trump continues to profit off of real estate he owns or manages, despite lawsuits arguing that this violates the Constitution’s emoluments clauses.
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Office Space And Staffing
Starting six months after a president leaves office, the General Services Administration provides funding to establish, furnish and staff an official office anywhere in the country. Trump will be allotted $96,000 a year for staffing costs, WCNC Charlotte reported.
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Trump has established his office in Florida, though its unclear how much it will end up costing taxpayers. For perspective on how much office rent typically costs taxpayers, former President Bill Clintons rent in New York is about $429,000 and former President George W. Bushs Texas office space costs taxpayers $434,000 a year.
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Trumps Claims Of Election Fraud Have Cost Taxpayers Over A Half
According to The Washington Post, Trumps falsehoods about the November 2020 election have left taxpayers with a large and growing bill that totals $519 million as of Feb. 6. That number accounts for the legal fees prompted by dozens of lawsuits, heightened security in response to death threats against poll workers and repairs needed after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. More than $480 million of the total cost is attributable to estimated expenses for the deployment of National Guard troops on the streets of Washington, D.C. through mid-March following the Capitol attack.
The official costs of Trumps election fraud claims are still being tallied and may never be fully known, The Washington Post reported.
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Michelle Obamas Staff Was Bigger Than Melania Trumps But Numbers Are Off
According to the 2020 annual report to Congress on White House office personnel, there are eight roles directly tied to the first lady via title. But there are other staffers who work for the first lady and do not have that phrase in their title. Forbes confirmed in June that the first lady has 11 people on her staff.
In 2017, the same annual report listed four roles directly tied to the first lady via title, but at the time the report was released, Melania Trump had lived in the White House for a little over two weeks. Fox News confirmed that by October 2017 the first lady had a staff of nine.
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Michelle Obamas staff was more sizable, but also more in line with past first ladies staff sizes. A spokesperson for her confirmed to PolitiFact in 2011 that the first ladys staff size was closer to 25.
“First lady Michelle Obamas staff is no different in size than that of her predecessor, Laura Bush around 25 people and is based on a similar staffing model,” McCormick-Lelyveld said. “So suggestions that our staff is larger are wrong.
When Hillary Clinton left her role as first lady, her staff size was 19 and as McCormick-Lelyveld suggests, Laura Bushs was between 24 and 26.
Regardless, its true Trumps staff is smaller than Obamas was.
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How Much Is Former President Trump Still Costing Taxpayers
Being president comes with perks that extend past your time in the Oval Office, so even though former President Donald Trump is no longer in the White House, hes still getting benefits courtesy of your taxpayer dollars. Heres a look at the post-presidential perks taxpayers foot the bill for plus, other ways Trump is still costing American taxpayers.
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Will Donald Trump Have Other Sources Of Income
Yes, and some have already come under scrutiny. Mr Trump’s financial arrangements have raised questions after he announced his three children – Donald Jr, Eric, and Ivanka – and Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner, were appointed to his transition committee.
Mr Trump is not required to sell his assets, which are estimated in the billions, and has said he would leave his business empire in a blind trust managed by his children.
However, the trust is arguably no longer blind, or under the control of an independent trustee, given that his children are involved his presidential transition.
So far, Mr Trump has refused to release his taxes, and it is unclear if his holdings in foreign countries will impact on US relations or shape his policy, underscoring a host of potential conflicts of interest.
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Youve Probably Asked Yourself At Least Once How Much Does The President Make Well The Answer Might Surprise You
Being the President of the United States isnt your typical nine to five job. You have to work long hours, have a huge amount of responsibility, and are constantly in the public eye. Once elected, the president basically works non-stop for four years. So yes, their annual salary is going to be higher than your average working American. But how much does the president make? While it is a high number it might not be as high as one would assume for the amount of work they do. Also, check out these presidential firsts you probably never knew about.
How Much Does A Building Maintenance Make At Trump Organization In The United States
Average Trump Organization Building Maintenance hourly pay in the United States is approximately $18.97, which is 8% above the national average.
Please note that all salary figures are approximations based upon third party submissions to Indeed. These figures are given to the Indeed users for the purpose of generalized comparison only. Minimum wage may differ by jurisdiction and you should consult the employer for actual salary figures.
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Did Donald Trump Really Follow Through On His Promise To Give Away His Presidential Salary
Before firmer President Donald Trump rose to power, he made several promises on the campaign trail and Politifact created a Trump-O-Meter to keep score. The outlet reports that the one-term president broke 53% of the promises he made, including banning White House officials from lobbying on behalf of foreign governments creating a health savings account investing $550 billion in infrastructure, and making no cuts to Medicaid.
However, he did keep a few promises 23% in fact, wherein he promised to limit legal migration, cancel the Paris climate accord, and to take no salary a promise that was largely kept until the end because, as The Washington Post points out, Trump stopped telling America where or even if he donated the salary he earned as president during the last six months of 2020, and for the first 20 days of 2021.
The lack of information is disconcerting because as The Post’s David Farenthold points out, Trump had made such a big deal out of making the donations while he was in office. “It’s a lot of money. Whether you’re rich or not, it’s a lot of money,” the former president said in March 2020. “And I did it and nobody cared. Nobody nobody said, ‘Thank you.’ Nobody said, ‘Thank you very much.'”
Conway Mcenany And Meadows Earn The Same
Kellyanne Conway, an American pollster, political consultant, and pundit who serves as counselor to the president, was the first woman to run a successful presidential campaign. She draws a salary of $183,000. She gets paid the same as Kayleigh McEnany, an American political commentator, lawyer, and author, who is serving as the 31st and current White House Press Secretary since April 2020. The women earn exactly the same amount as White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Other top staffers like the senior advisor for policy, Stephen Miller, former White House press secretary and present chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump and her chief spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, and former campaign spokeswoman and former White House communications director and current counselor to the president, Hope Hicks, all draw salaries of $183,000 each.
Mike Pompeo, an American politician, diplomat, businessman, and attorney who, since April 2018, has been serving as 70th US secretary of state draws in a considerably higher paycheck – $203,500.
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Presidents Who Did Not Take A Salary
The Constitution requires a president to take a salary. The Founding Fathers wanted to protect even wealthy presidents from misfortune that could tempt them to take bribes. The salary may have also been designed to ensure that a lack of personal wealth would not prohibit a president-elect from taking office.
Four presidents refused a salary, in whole or in part. Instead, they donated all or some of it.
- Donald J. Trump donated his $400,000 annual salary to various federal departments from 2017 to 2020. Trump’s net worth is about $3 billion.
- John F. Kennedy donated his $100,000 salary to charity. He was the beneficiary of a multimillion-dollar trust fund. He also donated his salary while serving 14 years in Congress.
- Herbert Hoover divided his salary between various charities. He gave some of it to his staff. Hoover’s net worth was around $4 million in 1913, worth about $115 million today.
- George Washington initially wanted to forgo his $25,000 salary. He had also foregone a salary while he was our nation’s military commander.
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Trump Has Donated His Presidential Salary
Trump is not the first president to donate his salary. Former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover, both wealthy before they took office, donated all their earnings. Forbes reports Trumps net worth as of July 9 at $2.1 billion, making him the first president to be a billionaire.
When Trump announced his decision to forgo a salary, critics expressed doubt because presidents are required to be compensated for their work. To get around this, Trump takes $1 each year from his paychecks.
According to news coverage and White House news releases, Trump has written checks equal to a quarter of his $400,000 annual salary every quarter to various government agencies:
2017
Trump and his constituents have not yet announced where he will donate his salary for the first and second quarters of 2020.
The president came under scrutiny for donating $100,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services after proposing a 10% budget cut totaling billions of dollars. Hes also proposed cuts totaling amounts larger than his donations for the National Parks Service and the Department of Education.
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Hypocrisy Aside Why Donald Trump Would Choose To Donate His Paycheck To The National Parks
Yesterday President Donald Trump donated his first three months of salary to the National Park Service, making good on a campaign promise to donate his $400,000 annual salary. The National Park Service is run by the Department of Interior, under Secretary Ryan Zinke, who said he was thrilled with the $78,333 check and would use the cash to maintain historic battlefields in the U.S.
Sure, Donald Trumps budget proposed a $1.5 billion slash for the Department of Interior, and there are $12.5 billion of maintenace and repair projects needed now that pale in comparison to $78,333. But as a PR move, it is money well spent. Few things in America are as popular as our National Parks. In 2015, over 300 million people visited a National Park, a trend that continued into 2016, with a total of 306 million forecasted to have visited last year. To compare, in 2010, National Parks got 281 million visitors.
Some of the top parks for tourists included the Grand Canyon, with nearly 6 million visitors per year, and Yosemite, which got roughly 5 million people. Other, lesser-known parks still got plenty of visitors, including the Arches National Park in Utah, scoring 1.5 million tourists, and Death Valley near California, where 1.2 million people experienced its vast sand dunes.
Looking forward to 2017, National Parks are a top tourist destination, with 58 percent of respondents to a survey saying theyd vacation at a National Park over a beach or a river/lake .
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Is Donald Trump Actually Donating His Presidential Salary
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The wording of the Constitution is clear: Article 2, Section 1, Clause 7, also known as the Compensation Clause, dictates that the president must receive a fixed salary during his time in office, which cannot be changed, eliminated, or refused during the duration of his presidency. The purpose of the clause, wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 73, is to ensure the presidents financial independence from outside forces. They can neither weaken his fortitude by operating on his necessities, nor corrupt his integrity by appealing to his avarice, he wrote.
Donald Trump, of course, has other income sources. The president retains his financial stake in the Trump Organization and, while he has handed operations over to his two adult sons, continues to profit from their business dealings all around the world. When his private Palm Beach club, Mar-a-Lago, raised its initiation fee to $200,000 in the wake of his election, that money went into Trumps pocketjust as it does every time that tourists and lobbyists alike book rooms at the newly opened Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. He also has a long history of making public displays of donating said profits, though the evidence of his professed charity has never been as obvious.
This article has been updated.
Trump And The Personalization Of The Congressional Spending Power
As millions of Americans receive their coronavirus economic stimulus checks, they could be forgiven for assuming it was the president directly who paid them. After all, for the first time in history the federal government will disburse checks with the presidents name, Donald J. Trump, embossed on the memo line.
Trumps actionwhat many critics have called a politicization of money appropriated by a separate branch of governmentis not the first time that the president has personalized the cash flow in and out of government agencies. Most notably, he is also the first president in history to donate his salary to government agenciesunlike previous presidents who chose to donate their salaries, all of whom gave the money to charity. Trump has donated his salary every quarter. In March 2020, he provided it to the Department of Health and Human Services to combat coronavirus.
Trumps quarterly donations to various departments pose unique constitutional and statutory questions. The Compensation Clause requires him to accept his salary, and the Appropriations Clause tasks Congress alone with funding the executive branchboth provisions that call into question Trumps practice of helping fund the government with his own salary. These clauses are no technicalities. Rather, they ensure that the president and executive branch remain accountable to the American people.
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