The pledge.

      Shout out to JJ Watt and celebrities like Sandra Bullock,  and Kevin Hart, who all raised and donated some serious coin towards the Harvey hurricane relief effort. (I was going to include Tyler Perry in that list, but the he went and did some dumb stuff with Grifter Pastor Joel Osteen and I had to write him off.)

It's really nice when folks who have the ability to do so give some of their dollars to those people in need.

Which brings me to the president of the United States. Apparently he has pledged a million dollars to the people of Houston and to Harvey relief, but if I were the folks down there I wouldn't be holding my breath. Please note that I said "pledged" not actually donated.

Donald doesn't like to spend his own money, and apparently he pledged money to the victims of hurricane Sandy and they are still waiting for it as well. Remember, this is the same New York businessman who gave zero to 9/11 charities. Zilch!

There is a reason for that. Either he doesn't have it to give, or he is too cheap and greedy to give up a million dollars.

The White House was asked about the president's "generous" pledge today and their answer left more questions than answers about the president's intentions. Given the president's history, I suspect that he will not give unless he is forced to like he was with the group helping veteran's families this past spring.

But don't take my word for it, read what a well respected Washington Post reporter wrote:

"In May, under pressure from the news media, Donald Trump made good on a pledge he made four months earlier: He gave $1 million to a nonprofit group helping veterans’ families.

Before that, however, when was the last time that Trump had given any of his own money to a charity?

If Trump stands by his promises, such donations should be occurring all the time. In the 15 years prior to the veterans donation, Trump promised to donate earnings from a wide variety of his moneymaking enterprises: “The Apprentice.” Trump Vodka. Trump University. A book. Another book. If he had honored all those pledges, Trump’s gifts to charity would have topped $8.5 million.

But in the 15 years prior to the veterans’ gift, public records show that Trump donated about $2.8 million through a foundation set up to give his money away — less than a third of the pledged amount — and nothing since 2009. Records show Trump has given nothing to his foundation since 2008.

Trump and his staff are adamant that he has given away millions privately, off the foundation’s books. Trump won’t release his tax returns, which would confirm such gifts, and his staff won’t supply details. “There’s no way for you to know or understand,” Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks told BuzzFeedrecently.

Hicks did not respond to repeated questions about Trump’s charity from The Washington Post. Trump earlier this month revoked The Post’s press credentials to cover his events.

[Months after fundraiser, Trump says he gave $1 million to veterans group]

In recent weeks, The Post tried to answer the question by digging up records going back to the late 1980s and canvassing a wide swath of nonprofits with some connection to Trump.

That research showed that Trump has a long-standing habit of promising to give to charity. But Trump’s follow-through on those promises was middling — even at the beginning, in his early days as a national celebrity.

In the 1980s, Trump pledged to give away royalties from his first book to fight AIDS and multiple sclerosis. But he gave less to those causes than he did to his older daughter’s ballet school.

In recent years, Trump’s ­follow-through on his promises has been seemingly nonexistent.

The Post contacted 188 charities searching for evidence of personal gifts from Trump in the period between 2008 and this May. The Post sought out charities that had some link to Trump, either because he had given them his foundation’s money, appeared at their charity galas or praised them publicly." [More]

I think you get the picture.

Trump will be at the scene of the disaster tomorrow, and I suspect that he will be there because he needs a do- over. He didn't do so well earlier this week.

He will be well scripted and will try to show empathy. Let's hope that he brings his checkbook as well.

*Pic from slate.com