Fact check: Viral comparison of Obamas, Trumps on charity and staffing is not all true

Ella Lee, USA TODAY
·6 min read

Claim: Obama donated none of his salary, Trump donates all his salary; Michelle had staff of 23, Melania has staff of 4

Comparisons between the current president and first lady and Barack and Michelle Obama have not ceased since the 2016 election. A viral meme, made by conservative group Turning Point USA and posted by the Facebook page “Donald Trump Fan Club,” claims the Obamas threw around taxpayer dollars, in the form of salary and payroll, more freely than the Trumps.

The post, which depicts the couples, alleges that Barack Obama donated “none” of his salary, while Donald Trump donates all of his, and Melania Trump reportedly has a staff of four, but Michelle Obama had a staff of 23.

More: Fact check: Former US presidents vary in their public statements about Trump

Donald Trump has made a similar claim before, arguing that he’s the first president to give away his salary.

“I give away my presidential salary,” Trump told reporters at a gathering of his Cabinet, according to POLITICO. “They say no other president has done it. I'm surprised, to be honest with you. They say George Washington may have been the only other president to do that. See whether or not Obama gave up his salary. See whether or not all of the other of your favorites, your other favorites gave up their salary. The answer is no.”

The Facebook page “Donald Trump Fan Club” did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment and clarification.

"This meme was reposted by another page that TPUSA obviously doesn't control and TPUSA hasn’t posted anything like this in a very long time," said Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA.

Trump and Obama on salary

U.S. presidents make $400,000 a year.

It’s true that Trump donates his salary. Though presidents are required to be compensated for their work, Trump takes just $1 each year from his paychecks. He has donated a quarter of his annual salary to a different government agency each fiscal quarter. Most recently, he donated his salary from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the Department of Health and Human Services in effort to support the fight against COVID-19.

More: Fact check: President Donald Trump donates his salary, but he still makes money

While Obama did not convert his whole salary into donations, it’s false to say he donated none of it. According to a Forbes analysis of the former president’s 2009-15 tax returns, Obama donated about $1.1 million to various charities while he was president.

Most of that money went to the Fisher House Foundation, a group that supports families of veterans, to which he donated $392,000 over those eight years. Other donations went to children’s causes and causes in his hometown, Chicago, Forbes reported.

More: Michelle, Barack Obama discuss hopes for 'country that respects everybody' during her podcast debut

On top of the $1.1 million, Obama donated all of the $1.4 million he received after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Trump is not the first president to give up his salary, either. Both Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy donated their salaries, as they entered office wealthy like Trump.

President Donald Trump stands with Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, before the Obama's departs on Marine One after the 2017 Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan 20, 2017.
President Donald Trump stands with Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, before the Obama's departs on Marine One after the 2017 Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan 20, 2017.

Michelle Obama’s staff was bigger than Melania Trump’s, but numbers are off

According to the 2020 annual report to Congress on White House office personnel, there are eight roles directly tied to the first lady via title. But there are other staffers who work for the first lady and do not have that phrase in their title. Forbes confirmed in June that the first lady has 11 people on her staff.

In 2017, the same annual report listed four roles directly tied to the first lady via title, but at the time the report was released, Melania Trump had lived in the White House for a little over two weeks. Fox News confirmed that by October 2017 the first lady had a staff of nine.

More: Fact check: Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush all visited combat zones

Michelle Obama’s staff was more sizable, but also more in line with past first ladies’ staff sizes. A spokesperson for her confirmed to PolitiFact in 2011 that the first lady’s staff size was closer to 25.

"First lady Michelle Obama’s staff is no different in size than that of her predecessor, Laura Bush — around 25 people — and is based on a similar staffing model," McCormick-Lelyveld said. "So suggestions that our staff is larger are wrong.”

When Hillary Clinton left her role as first lady, her staff size was 19 and as McCormick-Lelyveld suggests, Laura Bush’s was between 24 and 26.

Regardless, it’s true Trump’s staff is smaller than Obama’s was.

Our rating: Partly false

We rate the claim that Barack Obama donated “none” of his presidential salary as FALSE while President Donald Trump donates all his salary and that Michelle Obama had a staff of 24 while Melania Trump has a staff of four as PARTLY FALSE because some of it was not supported by our research. It’s true that the current president donates his salary, but Obama donated about $2.5 million to charities while in office. Michelle Obama’s staff was about 25, but Melania Trump’s is about 11.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Obama, Trump comparison on charity, staff is partly false