Donald Trump’s Charity Exposed As Sham That Primarily Benefits Donald Trump

Investigative Report Concludes GOP Nominee’s Philanthropy Is “In Large Part, A Facade”

The largest-ever gift made by Donald Trump’s charity — $264,631 — was used to renovate a public fountain that sits directly in front of Trump’s Plaza Hotel in New York City. 

The smallest-ever gift from the Trump Foundation, $7, went to the Boy Scouts — apparently to pay a registration fee for Trump’s son, which would be illegal. 

In 1996, Trump crashed the ribbon-cutting for a nursery school that serves children with HIV/AIDS — acting as though he was a donor, posing for photographs, dancing on stage and stealing an actual donor’s front-row seat — then left without contributing a dime. 

These are among the revelations in a new report from The Washington Post‘s David Fahrenthold, who’s been investigating Trump’s charitable giving — or lack thereof — for the last several months. Fahrenthold’s reporting has already led to the Trump Foundation paying a $2,500 penalty for making a political gift to Florida Republican Attorney General Pamela Bondi, as well as an investigation by New York Democratic Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who also ordered the charity to cease its fundraising. 

In his latest piece, Fahrenthold concludes that while Trump has long held himself out as a major philanthropist, those claims are “in large part, a facade.” 

“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,” Fahrenthold writes. 

Trump’s campaign claims the GOP presidential nominee has given “tens of millions” to charity, but Fahrenthold could confirm only $7.8 million from Trump’s own pocket since the early 1980s. He adds that it’s impossible to know for certain how much Trump has given since he won’t release his tax returns. 

As for the Trump Foundation, it’s been funded mostly by other people, who’ve given $9.3 million compared to Trump’s $5.5 million. But just like the fountain renovations and the Boy Scouts registration, other expenditures by the Trump Foundation appear to have primarily benefitted Trump himself.

He’s used donations from the foundation to settle legal disputes involving his for-profit companies and to buy two large portraits of himself — potentially violating laws against “self-giving.” On other occasions, the Trump Foundation has simply made nominal contributions to other charities in exchange for them renting out his clubs and hotels for fundraisers. 

Tony Schwartz, Trump’s co-author on his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal,” said Fahrenthold’s findings are “completely consistent with who Trump is.” 

“He’s a man who operates inside a tiny bubble that never extends beyond what he believes is his self-interest,” Schwartz told the Post. “If your worldview is only you — if all you’re seeing is a mirror — then there’s nobody to give money to. Except yourself.”

Read the full story here.