Trump Reveals He Keeps Wad of Cash in Back Pocket So He Can Tip People
Apparently, President Donald Trump is an avid tipper.
That’s the major takeaway from a photo of Trump boarding Air Force One that showed a wad of cash — including a $20 bill — sticking out of his back pocket and went viral this week.
The photo, which can be seen below, was taken Tuesday as Trump was climbing up the stairs to get into the presidential jet.
The wind blew the back flap of his suit jacket up, revealing a back pocket filled with money.
Money is seen in the back pocket of @realDonaldTrump as he boards Air Force One in Mountain View, California. pic.twitter.com/fCavzFXJ8L
— Tom Brenner (@tombrennerphoto) September 18, 2019
The photo set off rampant speculation on social media.
Trump, after all, is a billionaire, in addition to being the president. So it’s not as though he goes to the supermarket himself when he needs groceries.
To borrow an old cliché — Trump almost certainly has got people for that.
But Trump does have good reason to keep his pocket full of cash, as he revealed to reporters Wednesday night on Air Force One during the trip back to Washington, D.C.
Trump remarked that the media has “good cameras,” and was then asked by a reporter, “Do you carry cash in your back pocket?”
“I do! I do!” Trump replied, according to a White House media pool report.
As if to demonstrate, he took a wad of cash out of his pocket and held it up for the assembled media to see.
“I haven’t used [the cash] in a long time,” he said. “I don’t carry a wallet because I haven’t had to use a credit card in a long time.”
Then why does Trump even carry cash in the first place?
“I do like leaving tips to the hotel. I like to carry a little something. I like to give tips to the hotel,” he said.
“I’m telling you, maybe a president’s not supposed to do it, but I like to leave a tip for the hotel, etc., etc.”
Trump went on to point out that Reuters photographer Tom Brenner, who took the photo, had gotten “a good picture.”
“Hey, I’d like a piece of that picture,” the president said.
The fact that Trump likes to tip is actually nothing new.
In 2016, Trump’s longtime butler at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Anthony Senecal, told The New York Times that his boss would often produce $100 bills from a wad of cash in his pocket and give them to groundskeepers.
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