Trump has claimed $65,500 in taxpayer-funded presidential pension since leaving White House
Donald Trump has claimed $65,000 in pension since he left office on 20 January
(Getty Images)Former President Donald Trump has claimed tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer’s money since leaving office, despite previous claims he is a billionaire.
Mr Trump has already received $65,000 from his presidential pension, according to a representative from the General Services Administration who spoke to Business Insider.
This is after he made a big point of donating of his $400,000 presidential salary while in the White House, to places such as the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in keeping with his 2016 campaign promise.
While it is unclear if Trump has done the same with his pension, under the US constitution it is not required to supply former presidents with pensions. However, the constitution does outline the need to pay the commander-in-chief a salary while in office. This raises questions about why Mr Trump is claiming the pension when, according to Forbes, he has a net worth of $2.3 billion.
Additionally, in 2018, Mr Trump earned $434 million, according to his financial disclosure form. Mr Trump is the first billionaire elected to the role of president, and as such in 2016 he was able to market himself as independent of the influence of corporate donors, a problem his supporters had with his then-opponent Hillary Clinton.
Forbes reported that Mr Trump used his own businesses to supply campaign services, such as catering and entertainment, so therefore approximately $2.7 million of campaign funds was funnelled back his own enterprises. He also crowdfunded his supporters to pay for the legal battles based on unverified claims that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread voter fraud.
Mr Trump’s finances dogged his presidency. Today, President Joe Biden released his tax forms, a custom expected of all presidents that Mr Trump did not follow. Nothing was known about his tax payments until The New York Times revealed last year he had paid just $750 in federal taxes.
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