WASHINGTON — The magic of Verify starts with our viewers. We fact-check your questions about the viral things you read on social media.
After a recent segment, verifying that taxpayers do indeed, foot the bill for the president to travel to his own campaign rallies, lots of viewers messaged the team saying: "So what? President Trump has never taken a salary in office."
Well, we hear you, and that is 100 percent true.
Under 3 U.S. Code § 102, the president's annual salary is $400,000.
For the past two years, Trump has donated his salary to government agencies, during a televised press briefing with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
After taxes, each agency took home a check for $78,333 dollars and some change:
National Park Service- received 1Q 2017 paycheck on April 3, 2017
Department of Education- received 2Q 2017 paycheck on July 26, 2017
Department of Health and Human Services- received 3Q 2017 paycheck on November 30, 2017
Department of Transportation- received 4Q 2017 paycheck on February 13, 2018
Department of Veterans Affairs- received 1Q 2018 paycheck on May 17, 2018
Small Business Administration- received 2Q 2018 paycheck on October 3, 2018
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH)- received Q3 2018 paycheck on January 25, 2019.
Trump has not yet announced where his last paycheck of 2018 will go.
He is not the first president to donate some or all of his salary to charity.
Our researchers analyzed Obama's tax returns and from 2008-2015, Obama donated more than $1.2 million to charity.
Between 2001-2007 former President George W. Bush donated $618,090 to charity.