US President Donald Trump said in a press huddle that he gets “no credit” for taking a $0 salary each year. He went ahead saying that he let go of millions of dollars by “waiving” his presidential salary. Trump claimed that he’s the only President to have done so, and no others waived their salaries despite being well-off and wealthy while holding the highest office of the land.

“I waived it. I’m the only president that ever waived it,” said Trump. “We’ve had wealthy presidents before. In the history of our country, there’s never been a president that waved his salary. I’m the only schmuck. I get no credit for it,” he said. He made sure to emphasize that the salary is not a small amount, but a significant one. “It’s still a couple of million bucks. It’s not peanuts.”

The salary of a US President is $400,000 a year, which eventually adds up to $1.6 million for a term of four years. Joe Biden’s salary during the previous term was $1.6 million. Barack Obama, who served for eight years, earned $3.2 million during his time in office. Social media platforms quickly erupted with Trump supporters exclaiming, “Our President works for free.”

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Is Trump the Only President to Take a $0 Salary?

The New York Times reported that both John F. Kennedy and Herbert Hoover worked for free as presidents indirectly. Both the leaders donated their entire salaries to charity, as they were among the wealthiest to serve in the White House. Also, leading economist and gold proponent Peter Schiff said that Trump is making more money as President by taking a $0 salary.

“Trump has made billions exploiting his power as president. Why would he need a salary? That’s peanuts,” said Schiff. “He gives up his tiny salary as a publicity stunt to create the false impression that he’s not in it for the money,” he said. However, Schiff did not specifically explain what he meant by “exploiting his power,” as the President of the US.