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President Donald Trump waves to supporters as he walks the parade route with first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump after being sworn in at the 58th Presidential Inauguration January 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C.
- President Donald Trump said he loves his job at the White House - with one exception.
- "I lost massive amounts of money doing this job," Trump claimed in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday night. He said he's not in it for the money, and called the financial outlook of the presidency "one of the great losers of all time."
- Trump also appeared to address some of the scrutiny surrounding potential conflicts of interest with his business enterprises, namely his Trump-branded hotels.
- The former real-estate mogul now earns a base income of $400,000 per year as president, which he donates to various organizations.
President Donald Trump said he loves his job at the White House - with one exception.
"I lost massive amounts of money doing this job," Trump claimed in an interview with The New York Times published on Thursday night, saying he wasn't in it for the money, and calling the financial outlook of the presidency "one of the great losers of all time."
Despite this, Trump says he loves the job.
"I don't know if I should love doing it, but I love doing it," he said.
Trump also appeared to address some of the scrutiny surrounding potential conflicts of interest with his business enterprises, namely his Trump-branded hotels. World leaders and lobbyists have frequented the hotels during his presidency, raising suspicions that they may have done so to try to curry favor with Trump.
"You know, fortunately, I don't need money," Trump said. "But they'll say that somebody from some country stayed at a hotel. And I'll say, 'Yeah.' But I lose, I mean, the numbers are incredible." Trump did not provide any specifics about much money his companies have earned or lost while he's been in the White House. Multiple news reports published in the last two years describe portions of his businesses losing money since he took office.
The former real-estate mogul now earns a base income of $400,000 per year as president, which he donates to various organizations, including the Small Business Administration, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and the National Park Service.
Trump's tax payer-funded income is noticeably smaller than what he was earning as the star of NBC's reality show "The Apprentice." Financial documents for the show revealed Trump earned over $30 million in 2005, and $65 million between 2004 to 2007 for revenue and distribution-based royalties, according to Yahoo Finance.