Trump donates $100K of salary to alcoholism research

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism received a $100,000 donation from President Trump.

The money, which came from Trump’s third quarter salary in 2018, will assist the NIAAA with its mission to conduct research on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. The NIAAA falls under the National Institutes of Health.

The donation, reportedly announced by the White House, also carries personal significance for Trump, who does not drink. His older brother, Fred Trump, died of alcoholism in 1981.

“To this day, I’ve never had a drink,” Trump said in 2017, discussing the impact his brother had on his life. “And I have no longing for it. I have no interest in it. To this day, I’ve never had a cigarette. … He really helped me. I had somebody that guided me. And he had a very, very, very tough life because of alcohol. Believe me — very, very tough, tough life. He was a strong guy, but it was a tough, tough thing that he was going through. But I learned because of Fred. I learned.”

Trump vowed during the 2016 campaign to donate his $400,000 annual salary if elected, and during his two years in office has donated his salary to agencies including the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.

[Opinion: Demonizing alcohol: A war on moderation]

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