The White House on Monday announced that President Donald Trump would donate the first three months of his salary to the National Park Service, a grand total of $78,333.32. It's just too bad the service is run by the Department of the Interior, whose budget the president wants to slash by $2 billion.
Press secretary Sean Spicer announced the move by handing a check for the donation to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Zinke, in turn, said the money would go toward maintaining historic battlefield sites, adding another layer of uselessness to the proceedings.
Few appeared to be impressed by the nation's first for-profit president's donation. Many noted the irony of gifting $78,333 to the same department that he is attempting to gut, while others pointed out that Trump's vacations alone have already out-priced that amount.
Trump donated his Q1 salary, $78,333, to National Park Service
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 3, 2017
Also: Trump wants to cut Interior Dept by $2 billion https://t.co/hyYDpzNoKR pic.twitter.com/SULy2BMx5q
Media is falling for Trump PR stunt of donating $70k paycheck to National Park Service. It costs $3 million each time he visits Mar-a-Lago.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) April 3, 2017
Donating $78k to the Park Service while pushing to cut billions from the Interior Dept is standard Trump math. Give a penny, take 100 bucks.
— flippable (@flippable_org) April 3, 2017
did Trump donate his salary to National Parks Service as a bribe so they would finally say his crowd sizes are boss
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24) April 3, 2017
The Trump administration's anti-science stance famously prompted the creation of numerous "rogue" Twitter accounts, reportedly launched by federal workers—including those in the National Park Service—to disseminate facts on climate change following an information crackdown from the White House in January.
