U.S. Press Secretary Sean Spicer gave a check to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke for $78,333.00 on behalf of Donald Trump. Zinke is the supervisor of national parks in the United State. The current U.S. president has also declared that he will be contributing his entire annual salary to charitable causes. He has started with contributions to the National Parks Service. Commentators immediately began speculating after he provided the gift to the overseer of U.S. landmarks. They claim he only provided the money because it’s going to one of the government entities he plans on budget cutting.
The budget proposal Trump delivered to the U.S. Congress a few weeks ago requires a 12 percent cut to the Interior Department’s funding. The cut is estimated at $1.5 billion. His donation to the Department is much smaller than that. Zinke expressed his gratitude to Trump for the donation. He stated that the money will be utilized to maintain the upkeep of U.S. historical battlefields.
Trump keeping word
During the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump promised to surrender his $400,000 annual salary to the American people if he was elected. He has started to initiate that promise with his contribution to the Interior Department. A month ago, Sean Spicer stated that the president would give his entire pay towards the end of 2017.
He even requested suggestions from the media on what to do with the money to avoid Trump being scrutinized despite his proposed contribution. Trump has started early on keeping this campaign promise and has yet to comment on America’s reaction to it.
Trump criticized despite the campaign promise
U.S. citizens took to social media to express their opinions about Trump shortly after his contribution was given to Zinke.
People commented that his donation was too small and that it barely covered the costs to provide security to him on his trips to Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago.
One notable statement on social media came from the Sierra Club. The organization took to Twitter to say that the money Trump gave was a diversion that falls short of the $12 billion the Interior Department needs to address park maintenance.
They tweeted, "America's parks, and the people and economies they support, need real funding, not a giant fake check.” Despite the verbal chaos of some Americans reacting to being ungrateful, a few Trump supporters praised the president for his actions. Trump’s contribution to the Interior Department comes after initial conflict with the National Park Service not long after he was sworn in to office.
