https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/13/we-found-something-that-a-charity-named-in-honor-of-donald-trump-it-is-a-chair/?postshare=2531469662329255&tid=ss_twWe found something that a charity named in honor of Donald Trump. It is a chair.By David A. Fahrenthold
July 13
In May, a Washington Post reader named John Blum went to a show at a small community theater in Somerset, N.J. "Young Frankenstein." Not bad.
At some point, he noticed a plaque on the back of seat E-9, in the row in front of him.
"DONALD TRUMP," the plaque said. "TRUMP CASTLE."
Blum took a picture. On Tuesday night, he sent it to The Washington Post.
He had discovered something remarkable: a physical object, which a charity had named in gratitude to the presumptive GOP nominee.
The Post has now contacted more than 200 charities, seeking evidence that Trump has donated millions of dollars out of his own pocket to charity — as Trump and his staff have said. The Post has found only 13 groups that reported receiving any personal gifts from Trump, at any time. (Trump has not released his tax returns, which would likely make his donations clear.)
And so far, this chair — Seat E-9 at the Villagers Theatre in Somerset, N.J. — is the most substantial thing The Post has found, named after Trump because of a gift he gave.
Officials at the theater said the donation came more than 20 years ago. That estimate seems to be confirmed by the reference to "Trump Castle," an Atlantic City casino that hasn't had that name since 1997. (Trump renamed it, then sold it in 2011. It is now the Golden Nugget).
David Learn, a member of the theater's board, said it appeared that Trump or his company gave during a fundraising drive, when the reward was a plaque. The plaque on the next seat, E-7, honors Ivana Trump, Trump's former wife, who was chief executive of the Castle for a time in the 1980s. She divorced the mogul in the early 1990s. Plaques on surrounding seats honor local businesses and the Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce. [An earlier version of this story gave the wrong seat numbers for both].
Learn said he was not sure how much money had been donated, since old fundraising records could not be located. He also did not know if Donald Trump had ever visited the theater in person. The seat named for Trump seems to be a fairly decent one: on the left side of the theater, about halfway back.
"It’s not like it’s the nosebleed section ... in New York," Learn said, meaning theaters on Broadway. "It’s as good and as bad any other seat we have." As of Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump's seat is still available for Friday night's production of "Bring It On, The Musical." Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for students and seniors.
And that, so far, is it.
The Post's search for evidence of Donald Trump's charity has turned up charities that named things for other Trumps: a nursing home in Queens was named after Trump's parents in 1975, when Trump himself was 28. The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York named an "Institute for Implant Analysis" after Trump's parents in 2011, following a gift from their children — although Donald Trump appears to have paid his part with a gift from the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which is largely stocked with other people's money.
In 2011, New York's Hospital for Special Surgery named a center after Donald Trump's parents, after a joint $1 million gift from four of their children. Donald Trump appears to have paid his part out of the Donald J. Trump foundation -- whose tax documents are shown here. That foundation is largely funded by other donors: records show that Trump himself has not given money to it since 2008.
Last year, a surgery and intensive-care center at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis was named for the Eric Trump Foundation, run by Trump's son. Eric Trump's foundation pledged to give St. Jude's $20 million in the coming years.
But — despite Donald Trump's propensity to put his name on his business ventures, from Trump Steaks to Trump University — The Post has struggled to find charities that named things in his honor.
Even at the Wharton School of Business, where Trump is a proud alumnus, the Associated Press could find little named for him. This is what the AP found: "Trump's name can be found in one spot on campus, but you have to hunt for it. Inside Van Pelt library, in an area called the Weigle Information Commons, there's a seminar room. A small plaque on the wall thanks the Class of 1968 for funding the room on the occasion of their 35th reunion, and Trump's name is one of 27 alumni listed."
Trump's business, the Trump Organization, has "adopted" a section of highway in New York City, the southbound section of Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan from 119th Street to 72nd Street. That means the business pays contractors to pick up litter, mow and trim weeds. There's a sign with Trump's name. But the highway is named after Henry Hudson, not him.
There is also a Donald J. Trump State Park, a largely idle parcel in New York's Westchester and Putnam counties. It was built on land that Trump donated after he struggled to get approvals for a golf course there. But that was a gift to the state, not to a charity. Trump has never given money to the charity whose volunteers want to improve the park, the Friends of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Donald J. Trump State Parks.
Is there anything else?
Trump's campaign didn't respond to that question on Wednesday or to a question about what Trump had done to get that seat named after him in New Jersey.
So The Post is still looking.
If readers know of buildings, wings, rooms, chairs — anything — that a charity has named after Donald Trump, please contact this reporter.
At that theater in New Jersey, it doesn't appear that they'll be naming anything else after Trump anytime soon. The Post asked a theater staffer: when was the last time Donald Trump gave a donation?
A Washington Post reporter's list of charities -- all with ties to Donald Trump -- and notations about whether those groups have ever received a personal donation from the mogul. The Villagers Theatre, which has a seat named in Trump's honor, is #212.
"I’ve been here 20 years," said the employee, did not want to be named. And, in that time: nothing.
What about asking again? The theater could reach out to Trump again, and take advantage of the fact that it contains a rare physical testament to his charitable giving?
"I can say on the record: No, we have no plans to do that," Learn said.
