April 3 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has decided to donate his salary for the first few months of his tenure — more than $78,000 — to the National Park Service, the White House said Monday.
“It’ every penny that the president received from the first quarter,” administration spokesman Sean Spicer said during his news briefing Monday. “It’s from January 20th, noon, forward.”
Spicer gave the check for $78,333.32 to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and NPS superintendent Randy Burke at the briefing.
“We span 12 time zones … We have 417 national parks,” Zinke said of his department. “I am thrilled at the president’s decision to donate the check he did today.”
Already a billionaire, the president will also donate more of his $400,000 annual salary to various recipients in future quarters.
“We are going to dedicate it and put against the infrastructure on our nation’s [historical] battlefields,” Zinke added. “We’re about $229 million behind in deferred maintenance on our battlefields alone.”
Trump said during his campaign that he would not take a salary as president, but he is constitutionally required to be paid. The solution, he decided, would be to give the money away.
