Trump just donated his quarterly $100,000 salary to defeat coronavirus

United States President Donald Trump has finally found the only bone of generosity in his body. As a grand gesture, he has donated his full quarterly salary of $100,000 to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The money will be utilized to fund efforts fighting against coronavirus. The President, who suggested that medical experts use the flu vaccine in order to prevent the disease from spreading, has apparently realized that that isn't a viable solution. Trump's generous donation is additionally boosted by his administration's $2.5 billion supplemental funding request to Congress to fight the coronavirus, The Hill reports.

The news came to light after White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham took to Twitter in order to post about his donation. She tweeted, "President Donald Trump made a commitment to donate his salary while in office. Honoring that promise and to further protect the American people, he is donating his 2019 quarter-four salary to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to support the efforts being undertaken to confront, contain, and combat coronavirus." This donation is part of the President's pledge to donate the entirety of his salary over the first three years of his tenure in office to various agencies. In the past, he has donated his salary to the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. He has also made a donation to the government agency currently fighting the opioid crisis.

The President's donation has been submitted a week after his administration filed a $2.5 billion supplemental funding request to Congress in order to fight the coronavirus. However, many lawmakers (belonging to both the Republican and Democratic parties) believe this figure is insufficient considering the size and speed of the problem at hand. The final package that Congress will vote on is likely to be valued anywhere between $6 billion and $8 billion as per a source familiar with the ongoing negotiations. The vote is expected to take place later this week. The faster Congress is able to act, the fewer victims will succumb to the deadly disease. Following the vote, the bill will be sent to President Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign it no later than the end of next week.

Despite all this, Trump's decision to donate his salary to efforts fighting against coronavirus is an interesting move. At a rally which took place just last week, he described concerns about the virus a complete "hoax," USA Today reports. Though he did later clarify that he meant to describe the Democratic response to the epidemic, it seemed like a last-ditch effort to make up for an insensitive and uninformed statement. Could his donation be a means to prove he really does care about the disease? Perhaps. So far, coronavirus has already claimed the lives of six people in the United States. At least 60 more cases of the virus have been diagnosed across the country. This is not including those who were repatriated from Wuhan, China, or the Diamond Princess cruise ship. Hopefully, Trump's donation, paired with Congress' funding bill, will help contain the outbreak.