It’s probably time to talk about Donald Trump’s charitable giving. You probably knew this was coming; you’re not a kid anymore, after all. But day by day it looks increasingly like Trump doesn’t actually give much, you know, money to charity, even his own. This likely won’t generate much outrage because we kind of had the feeling already, as Trump spokeswoman Katrina Pierson explained to CNN on Wednesday: “Mr. Trump believes in putting your oxygen mask on first before helping others.” Donald Trump needs a lot of oxygen. He’s also going to need to hold on to your mask too, just in case.
On Wednesday, Trump’s son Eric attempted to explain to the Washington Post how his father is misunderstood on the philanthropy front. “My father has given me and my foundation hundreds of thousands of dollars. And he’s given other charities millions and millions and millions of dollars,” Eric Trump said. The Post has been investigating Trump’s charitable-giving claims, like the 12-grand of his foundation’s money he spent on a Tim Tebow helmet and asked Eric for some documentation to substantiate Donald Trump’s claims. After all, the Trump Foundation’s tax records show Trump hadn’t even given any money to his own foundation from 2009 to 2014. From the Post:
Eric Trump, the son of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, said in an interview Wednesday that his father gives “millions and millions and millions” of his own money to charity—including hundreds of thousands to Eric Trump’s own charitable foundation. After making that assertion, Eric Trump was asked if he would provide details of his father’s gifts to the Eric Trump Foundation, to confirm that they really exist. Eric Trump said he would check. Several hours later, he wrote back. He would not. “We are going to maintain anonymity,” Eric Trump wrote in an email message about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. “Hope you understand.”
Yeah, Eric, I think we get it.
