The radio host, Bobby Estell, better known as Bobby Bones, could have taken the money and run, but instead he leveraged it to force the real estate mogul turned Republican presidential hopeful to do something good.
“Thanks Donald Trump,” Estell tweeted on Thursday afternoon. “This check goes to St Jude. Have your slogan back.”
— Bobby Bones (@mrBobbyBones) October 29, 2015
Estell included a photo of the signed check, with the dollar amount whited out per Trump’s request. The description states that it represents a "transfer of trademark."
Trump has used the slogan throughout his campaign, on merchandise and in speeches.
Trump’s campaign issued a statement indicating they only reimbursed Estell what he had paid for the trademark. Which, if this is the case, means that Estell actually made the hefty donation himself.
“We simply reimbursed him the money he had paid to try and register the trademark and allowed him to donate it to St. Jude’s Hospital for which Mr. Trump’s son Eric has helped raise millions of dollars toward cancer research,” Hope Hicks, a spokeswoman for Trump, told the Hill.
Estell has also requested an interview with the candidate on his show; it is unclear whether Trump has agreed to it.