President Trump did not profit from market boom he created
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:16 PM PT – Saturday, April 10, 2021
A new financial report confirmed President Trump’s assertion that not
only did he not profit off the presidency, but actually grew less
wealthy as a result of his service to the American people.
This is according to estimates by Forbes published in their annual
billionaires list on Tuesday. Forbes assessed his net worth at $2.4
billion, down from $3.5 billion in 2017 at the onset of the Trump
administration.
Despite four years of accusations from the left that President Trump
was enriching himself from the White House, his time in office actually
cost him about 32 percent of his total wealth. This, confirming the
truth behind his numerous statements on the matter.
“Well, I’ll tell you what, I’ve spent, and I think I will, in a
combination of loss and opportunity, probably it’ll cost me anywhere
from three to five billion dollars to be president,” President Trump
said. “And the only thing I care about is this country. Couldn’t care
less, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it.”
Moreover, the analysis performed by Forbes and verified by industry
experts also projected that had President Trump sold off all his assets
and used the proceeds to invest in the stock market, he would have made
himself $1.6 billion richer.
This was due to the thriving stock market overseen by the Trump
administration and boosted by a business-friendly overhaul of the U.S.
tax code, which was spearheaded by President Trump.
According to Forbes, the 45th President refused to “cash in on a market boom he helped propel.”
“Now with all that being said, I’m so glad I’ve done it, because you
know, there are a lot of rich people around, got a lot of rich friends,
but they can’t help, and they can’t do what I’ve done in terms of
helping this country,” President Trump stated.
The Constitution mandates the president receive a salary amount
decided by Congress, and thus a sitting commander in chief cannot
legally refuse it outright. Even George Washington was forced by
Congress to accept a salary against his wishes.
However, the president can donate his earnings.
Keeping one of his earliest campaign promises, President Trump
donated the totality of his salary, set at $400,000 a year, or $1.6
million over four years, to various government agencies throughout his
presidency.
His first quarterly donation was in the amount of $78,333, which
Forbes estimated were his post tax earnings, which was topped off by an
“anonymous” donor to a total of $100,000. This is the same amount
President Trump donated every other quarter of his presidency,
suggesting he was not only not taking in a salary, but dipping into his
own private funds to pay taxes on that salary, and then donating the
pre-tax amount back.
Yet despite all those financial losses, President Trump said on
repeated occasions he had no regrets over making that sacrifice for the
sake of the American people.
“People have asked me, what do you think it costs? And between
opportunity, not doing things. I used to get a lot of money doing
speeches, now I give speeches all the time. You know what I get? Zippo.
And that’s good. And I did a lot of great jobs and great deals that I
don’t do anymore, and I don’t want to do them, because the deals are
making are great deals for the country, and that’s to me much more
important,” President Trump stated.
