MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Did Eric Trump steal money from cancer-hit children? Truth behind allegations as he claims 'MAGA is going nowhere'

In 2017, Eric Trump was accused of funneling money raised for children with cancer and using it to 'enrich' his businesses and turns out these accusations are resurfacing

As the Trump family prepares to make their way out of the White House this month when Joe Biden is sworn in as the next President of the United States, looks like the drama is far from over. On January 5 night, in an interview with FOX News' Sean Hannity, Eric Trump spoke about how "MAGA was going nowhere". He also spoke about how he "doesn't feel right" that Biden had won the election. He is heard saying, "Any senator or any congressman on this side that does not fight tomorrow, I’m telling you will not, their political career is over because the MAGA movement is going nowhere." Soon, internet users started trolling him and in no time an old accusation resurfaced where he is accused of stealing money from children who were diagnosed with cancer. You can watch the interview below.

It was in 2017 that Eric was accused of funneling away money raised for children with cancer. An extensive report by Forbes alleged that Donald Trump has used Eric's charity to "enrich his business at the expense of kids with cancer". The article titled 'How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business', written by reporter Dan Alexander, resulted in many accusing Eric of stealing. The article revealed that while the Eric Trump Foundation "virtually" sent all its money to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis in its first four years, things didn't last that way when Donald got involved. 

Eric had told Alexander that because the money-raising events such as the charity's annual golf invitational were held at the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York, the family was using their own assets and so most of the money raised was sent to the children. Eric said, "We get to use our assets 100 percent free of charge," which meant that all the money raised through the charity’s annual golf invitational would be going to the kids, instead of being used for expenses such as renting the space.

Interestingly enough though, Alexander wrote that the truth is, "For the first four years of the golf tournament, from 2007 to 2010, the total expenses averaged about $50,000, according to the tax filings. Not quite the zero-cost advantage that a donor might expect given who owned the club but at least in line with what other charities pay to host outings at Trump courses, according to a review of ten tax filings for other charitable organizations." The article also revealed that in 2011, the tournament ended costing $142,000, according to the foundation's IRS filings. It also has a quote from Ian Gillule, who had served as marketing director at Trump National Westchester that read, "In the early years, they weren't being billed [for the club] — the bills would just disappear. "Mr Trump had a cow. He flipped. He was like, 'We're donating all of this stuff, and there's no paper trail? No credit?' And he went nuts. He said, 'I don't care if it's my son or not — everybody gets billed.' "

In a bold move, Alexander also wrote, "It's also very consistent. The Donald J Trump Foundation famously acted like an arm of the overall business, using the charity's money to settle a Trump business lawsuit, make a political donation and even purchase expensive portraits of its namesake. Meanwhile, Trump businesses billed the Trump campaign, fueled by small outside donors, more than $11 million to use his properties, chefs, and private aircraft." Turns out that in 2014, expenses also started to rise and ended up at a whopping $242,000, according to Forbes’s review of IRS filings. The article further detailed the path the money took to and from the many Trump businesses and the charities.

Amid the recent Hannity video, many took to Twitter to remind people why they oppose Eric and one did it with a fake Donald Trump account writing, "I beg every GOP politician to listen to the words of wisdom from my son Eric Trump. You will swim with the fishes if you don't support me on Jan 6th. My boy Eric stole from kids cancer charities and his wife Lara Trump helped him. #MakeAmericaGriftAgain!" Another added, "Eric Trump look like hes about to burst into tears with them lousy ass fear tactics he throwing out there. MAGAs been over bud. Now return the money you stole from the kids with cancer a**hole!" Yet another added, "Eric Trump stole money from children with cancer. Nobody should give air time or the time of day to that vacuous sponger."