President Trump Donates Third Quarter Salary To Help Fight Opioid Crisis

trump salary opioid
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 30: (L to R) U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, First Lady Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the 95th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in President's Park on November 30, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)

President Trump has donated his third quarter salary to help the Department of Health and Human Services combat an ever-expanding opioid crisis.

Acting HHS secretary Eric Hargan made the announcement, adding Trump’s “decision to donate his salary is a tribute to his compassion, to his patriotism and his sense of duty to the American people.”

The donation will likely be used to create a public awareness campaign regarding the dangers of opioid addiction.

Trump has long been addressing the opioid crisis, even winning the Republican primary in New Hampshire in part due to his willingness to talk about the problem where others would not.

“This crisis of drug use, addiction, and overdose deaths in many years, it’s just been so long in the making,” the President said in October. “Addressing it will require all of our effort and it will require us to confront the crisis in all of its very real complexity.”

“This epidemic is a national health emergency, unlike many of us we’ve seen and what we’ve seen in our lifetimes,” he added. “Nobody has seen anything like what’s going on now.”

Now, he’s putting his own money where his mouth is in addressing the problem. Not many lawmakers would do that.

All along the campaign trail in 2016, Trump vowed to donate his salary to various charities rather than accept payment.

“I won’t take even one dollar,” Trump declared. “I am totally giving up my salary if I become president.”

His first quarter salary went to the National Park Service to help repair the Antietam National Battlefield – site of the bloodiest one day battle in American history.

His second quarter salary went to the Department of Education.

What do you think of Trump’s pledge to donate his salary to charity? Share your thoughts below.

Rusty Weiss has been covering politics for over 15 years. His writings have appeared in the Daily Caller, Fox... More about Rusty Weiss

Mentioned in this article: