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The White House announced the 12 organizations that have been promised personal donations, totaling $1 million, from President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to go toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
The Red Cross and the Salvation Army are the organizations set to receive the most aid, with donations of $300,000 pledged to each. The other 10 organizations on the list, which have each been promised donations of either $25,000 or $100,000, are: Reach out America, Samaritan’s Purse, ASPCA, Catholic Charities, Direct Relief, Habitat for Humanity, Houston Humane Society, Operation Blessing, Portlight Inclusive Disaster Strategies, and Team Rubicon.
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It’s worth noting, however, that Trump’s track record of charitable giving seems to have been embellished. As the Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold reported in October of 2016:
A months-long investigation by The Washington Post has not been able to verify many of Trump’s boasts about his philanthropy.
Instead, throughout his life in the spotlight, whether as a businessman, television star or presidential candidate, The Post found that Trump had sought credit for charity he had not given — or had claimed other people’s giving as his own.
And in some cases, Fahrenthold reported as well, Trump appeared to use his foundation to collect donations from others, give them to causes of his choosing, and pass them off as personal donations.
So the White House statement might raise a few eyebrows among those who recall Fahrenthold’s reporting. The statement announced that the charities had been chosen — not whether the money has been given yet, nor the timeline for when that might happen.
