The long-drawn elections are over, and Donald Trump is now officially the President-elect of the United States. While Trump’s campaign was unconventional, he’s now made an unconventional announcement regarding his Presidency.
When Trump moves into the White House early next year, he won’t draw a salary like a normal President. He’ll be drawing a salary of $1/year.
“The answer is no,” he said, when asked about his campaign trail promise in his first televised interview since becoming President-elect. “I think I have to take by law one dollar so I’ll take one dollar a year.”
Trump had promised during his campaign that he was going to forgo a conventional President’s salary. A US President earns $400,000 a year (Rs. 2.6 crore), in addition to a host of perks and facilities.
Trump is worth an estimated $4 billion (Rs. 26,000 crore), so giving up the President’s salary isn’t likely to cause him much heartburn. But he also seemed unmindful of the fact that his long bruising campaign, and sustained negative coverage in the media, would hurt his sprawling business empire. “Who cares? Who cares?,” he said. “This is big league stuff. This is our country. Our country is going bad. We’re going to save our country. I don’t care about hotel occupancy. It’s peanuts compared to what we’re doing.”
Trump also added that he wouldn’t take any vacations while in office. “There’s so much work to be done and I want to get it done for the people,” he said. “I want to get it done. We’re lowering taxes, we’re taking care of health care.”