Tweets Show How Donald Trump Benefited From His Charity
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Donald Trump's nonprofit organization, The Donald J. Trump Foundation, is coming under fire following allegations of improper activity. Part of the criticism has to do with the fact that Trump hasn't contributed money out of his own pocket to his family foundation for quite some time — but takes credit for the charitable giving nonetheless.
AP/Evan Vucci - apimages.com
In fact, the Trump Foundation has relied exclusively on donor contributions to fund its philanthropic activities since 2008, as The Washington Post's David Fahrenthold reported this week.
In the world of charitable family organizations, Trump is an outlier. For example, as the Daily Beast reports, "Hillary and Bill Clinton have contributed more than $22 million to their own family foundation, The Clinton Family Foundation, since 2001."
In nine tweets, Fahrenthold reveals why Trump's approach is cause for concern.
So not only does Trump benefit from being associated with a $50,000 donation to an important cause — getting recognition for a contribution that was funded entirely by other donors — but he financially benefits from the business his contribution helped to generate; in this case, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society held their annual gala at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Does it really matter where the money is coming from as long as it's used in the name of philanthropy?
Critics of the Trump Foundation are primarily concerned with the organization's alleged improper activities, which include using the money for political purposes and personal gifts. (Trump violated Internal Revenue Service rules by donating $25,000 to Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi in 2013 — at the same time that she was considering a case against Trump University — for example.)
Money from the Trump Foundation also went toward personal gifts for Trump, "including a $12,000 football helmet and a $20,000 portrait of Trump — despite IRS rules against 'self-dealing' by charity leaders," The Post reported.
In light of these revelations, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced on Tuesday that he had opened an investigation into the Trump Foundation. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller described the investigation as "nothing more than another left-wing hit job designed to distract from [Hillary Clinton's] disastrous week."
ATTN: reached out to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Trump's campaign for comment, but representatives were not immediately available.
