Interior Department staff on Monday tweeted this photo of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke presenting a check representing President Trump's first three months' salary to the National Park Service.
President Trump on Monday donated his salary for the first three months of the year to the National Park Service, a move quickly ridiculed as a publicity stunt by some groups.
The donation, of $78,333, pales in comparison to the estimated $12 billion maintenance backlog facing the National Park System, and comes in the wake of a $1.5 billion budget cut the president is proposing for the Interior Department, which oversees the national parks.
“If Donald Trump is actually interested in helping our parks, he should stop trying to slash their budgets to historically low levels. This publicity stunt is a sad consolation prize as Trump tries to stifle America’s best idea," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club.
"It's a distraction that falls far short of the $12 billion needed to address the current backlog of park maintenance and does nothing to offset the almost $2 billion Trump asked Congress to cut from the Department of the Interior in his budget. America’s parks, and the people and economies they support, need real funding, not a giant fake check. Parks are a good investment and we must invest now if we want them to be around for our kids.”
At the Center for Western Priorities, Deputy Director Greg Zimmerman said, "President Trump and Secretary (Ryan) Zinke should be embarrassed by today’s publicity stunt. You can’t propose $1.6 billion in cuts to our public lands, then pretend a $78,000 donation makes it better. The White House needs to protect America’s parks and public lands, not pay lip service to them."
Interior Secretary Zinke said the $78,333 would go to maintaining historic battlefield properties in the National Park System. The Interior secretary's tweet of the donation included a note stating that after the president made his donation, an anonymous donor contributed $22,000 to the National Park Foundation.
Comments
Most here "run and hide" or "skip posts" when they are presented with facts.
Martin, I don't expect the current political situation to be benificial to me but I certainly think it wil be beneficial to my children, grandchildren and the rest of the country. My "meighbors" may have voted democratic but the country as a whole, which represents the vast majority of my customer base didn't. Further, I don't care what my customers' think of my political views. Contrary to what you think, my country and what is best for it is more important than my business.
Is there "propaganda" out there. Absolutley - on both sides. Which is why I am willing to keep an open mind and listen to the facts. Your side prefers calling names (greedy egotists) You implore me not to embarce the "hate and fear" but that is coming far more from the left than from the right.
You challange me to make a choice to share my neighbors "joy and confidence". That is certainly not what I see from the left. It is envy and greed on their part that is apparant. Which is more greedy, creating wealth and wanting to keep it or envying whealth and wanting to take it away for one own benefit.
Comments like that avoid the real issue. No, obviously, I am not a billionaire or the president, so I did not donate 78k. I have volunteered my time, but regardless, this is about politics and public budgets, not personal donations. Don't get distracted.
Martin and Alaska, thanks for two of the best comments posted here in a long time.
Yes, this was a shameful publicity stunt. I doubt Trump really gives a hoot about the National Parks. He will make up for his donation to the Parks exponentially by mixing his business with his Presidential duties. I held out some hope that he might grow into his new job, but it is obvious now that he won't. The millions he's wasting simply by spending his weekends at the private club in Florida instead of Camp David show that he's adding to, not draining the swamp. I'm truly ashamed to have such a narcissistic buffoon as the leader of our Country, and look forward to his removal from office.
And the Billions he is saving the American public proves just the opposite. Sorry, I missed your whining when Obama was taking is multi-million vacations.
Had Obama gave this money, which he never donated one thin dime to NPS, there would have so much praise. President Trump gave money to the Park Service but the ungratefuls are lemmings spewing false narratives about his motives. Tell me who, in the Obama administration gave an equal amount or more to the NPS.
We are talking today, concerned citizen, not the past. Although, with your "false narratives" I'm afraid you sip right at the party line on Fox, and we will not have a meaningful conversation.