Exceedingly rare personal check, 8.5 x 3.5, filled out in type and signed by Trump as president, "Donald J. Trump," payable to Shane Bouvet for $10,000, January 23, 2017. In very fine condition. Encapsulated in a Beckett authentication holder. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Checks signed by modern presidents during their presidencies are virtually unobtainable.
Signed just three days after his inauguration, President Trump sent this check to Shane Bouvet, who volunteered on the 2016 campaign by day while delivering packages at night. Bouvet spent all of his money in order to attend the inauguration, and met with president-elect Trump on January 19th, sharing his own financial difficulties and those of his father, who was battling cancer. At the end of the night, Trump made a promise to send him a $10,000 check—which he delivered on just after taking the nation's highest office. Bouvet then gave all of the money to his father, who was able to afford better treatment and beat cancer.
Shane Bouvet and his father were invited to the White House a year later, on February 9, 2018, where they met with President Trump and told their story to the press. It is a story of great generosity—from president to citizen, and from son to father—that also raises questions about the equity of the American healthcare system.
