Donald Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump will give his $400,000 salary to US charities by the end of 2017, a White House official said.

“The President’s intention right now is to donate his salary at the end of the year,” Efe news quoted Sean Spicer as saying in response to a question from a reporter about whether Trump had already donated his February pay of more than $30,000.

“In all seriousness, I think his view is, he made a pledge to the American people, he wants to donate it to charity and he’d love your help to determine where it should go,” Spicer said.

During a question and answer session with Twitter users in September 2015, Trump responded to a question on whether he would take a salary.

“As far as the salary is concerned, I won’t take even one dollar. I am totally giving up my salary if I become President,” Trump, whose personal fortune is estimated by Forbes at $3.7 billion, said.

In a campaign speech in Oklahoma later that week, Trump said, “I’ll be working for our country free, I don’t want any salary. I’ve already said, I turned down my salary. I don’t even know what the hell the salary is, but I don’t want the salary.”

Later, in a CBS interview, Trump said he would take $1 because the law requires that he receive a salary.