Did other US presidents donate their salaries like Trump claimed?

1. What people actually claimed — the competing assertions that set the record straight

The central public claim under scrutiny was Trump’s statement that he was the only U.S. president to donate his salary. Historical and contemporary analyses show two competing claims: one asserts a unique precedent for Trump’s gesture, while the other documents multiple prior presidents who similarly refused or redirected pay. Contemporary reporting in mid-2025 compiled presidential salary histories and identified explicit examples—Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy among them—who donated their presidential salaries or otherwise declined payment, undermining the uniqueness claim (published July 10, 2025; August 7, 2025) ^{[1] [2]}. Fact-checking outlets and agency confirmations from 2023–2024 further contend that Trump did make salary donations to federal agencies and nonprofits, though the claim that he “worked for no money” ignores his broader business income ^{[3] [4] [7]}.

2. The documentary record — past presidents who refused pay and the primary sources

Archival and secondary sources compiled by historians and news organizations show precedent for refusing presidential pay. The historical survey published July 10, 2025 lists instances across U.S. history where presidents declined the annual salary or donated it, situating Trump’s action within a longer pattern rather than a unique event ^[1]. A December 10, 2024 overview similarly lists four presidents who refused annual salaries or donated pay, naming Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy explicitly and noting George Washington’s early salary-related choices as institutional precedent ^[5]. These retrospective accounts rely on presidential papers, White House records, and contemporary press reporting to document transfers or refusals, establishing a clear historical baseline that contradicts claims of singularity.

3. What Trump actually did — recipients, amounts, and official confirmations

Contemporary fact checks and government confirmations from 2023–2024 document that Trump donated portions of his presidential salary to multiple federal agencies and nonprofit entities. Reporting dated February 2, 2023 and April 17, 2024 summarizes confirmations that the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Park Service, the Small Business Administration, and the White House Historical Association were among recipients of transferred funds from the president’s pay, and notes that the first presidential paycheck was directed to the White House Historical Association ^{[3] [4] [2]}. These records establish that Trump’s payroll donations were real transfers, but they do not by themselves demonstrate that he thereby “worked for no money,” because presidents may still receive other income outside the salary stream.

4. Where nuance matters — income beyond salary, tax records, and messaging motives

Analysts emphasize two important qualifications that explain why disputes persist despite documented donations. First, donating a presidential salary does not eliminate other income sources; independent fact checks in mid-2020 and later point out that Trump continued to profit from real estate and business operations, so the rhetoric of “no money” is misleading even if salary donations occurred ^[7]. Second, tax return summaries and public filings alone cannot fully trace ultimate economic impact or charitable intent; a 2025 fact-check noted that while donations were recorded to agencies and nonprofits, tax documents and reportage leave unresolved questions about timing, offsets, and whether donations were gross or net of other accounting treatments ^[6]. Observers with political motives have used both the historical precedent and the uniqueness claim selectively—supporters highlight philanthropy, opponents highlight ongoing private income—so the record requires parsing both acts and broader financial context.

5. Bottom line for claim evaluation — what is true, what is omitted, and why it matters

The claim that Trump was the only president to donate his salary is demonstrably false: multiple presidents including Kennedy and Hoover donated or refused pay, and Trump himself did redirect salary payments to federal agencies and nonprofits, as confirmed by government records and fact checks between 2023 and 2025 ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}. The important omitted considerations are Trump’s concurrent private income streams and the limits of tax-return evidence to capture the full financial picture; emphasizing salary donations without those contexts presents an incomplete portrait of presidential wealth and motives ^{[7] [6]}. Evaluating the claim therefore requires acknowledging both the factual donations and the broader financial and rhetorical landscape that shaped public messaging.