DONALD TRUMP: Donates His 2019 Fourth-Quarter Salary to Fight the Coronavirus

Donald Trump is putting his money where his mouth is. He announced Tuesday that he’s donating his fourth-quarter 2019 salary to the Department of Health and Human Services to help fight coronavirus.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that the $100,000 donation will “support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat coronavirus.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has donated his salary to a government agency battling a cause he thinks is worthy of his support. Previously, he donated to the Surgeon General to help fight the opioid crisis, to Homeland Security to help pay for the wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, to fight alcohol abuse. The latter was a factor in the death of Trump’s older brother, Fred Trump Jr. (CNBC)

Hot Takes:

• Actually, literally putting your money where your mouth is is a bad idea. Money is dirtier than your toilet. (TIME)
• Kudos to the president for supporting the battle against coronavirus with his own money.
• This is probably just a tax write-off.
• This is too little too late. We need much more than Trump’s $100,000 donation to do battle with the coronavirus.