There’s always something new and bizarre in this year’s presidential campaign, and the race has now descended into a nasty free-for-all, triggered by the disclosure of Republican nominee Donald Trump‘s partial income tax returns.
The New York Times published a blockbuster story Sunday revealing that Trump took a $916 million loss on those income tax returns in 1995, which could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for 18 years. Critics say this shows he isn’t as successful a businessman as he has claimed, and that he thinks only of himself and his financial status rather than supporting worthwhile government programs by paying taxes as a civic duty. His critics also say the disclosure shows that Trump benefits from the same “rigged” system that he has criticized Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for exploiting.
Trump’s campaign spokesmen didn’t deny the Times story but said Trump had a responsibility to his corporate empire to pay no more taxes than required by law. Trump tweeted, “I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them.”
Trump is still refusing to release his income tax returns, insisting that he won’t do so while he is under federal audit. This breaks with recent tradition because major-party presidential nominees have released their tax returns for many years. Clinton has already done so.
A Trump campaign spokesman also said it was illegal for the Times to publish such tax information, which Times officials said was sent to one of the newspaper’s reporters anonymously.
The Trump tax story is the biggest campaign development in recent days and it’s likely to be a major topic at the next presidential debate between Trump and Clinton scheduled for Oct. 9. An important question is how badly Trump is being hurt politically. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who lost the Democratic nomination to Clinton but is now supporting her, said, “This exactly why so many millions of Americans are frustrated. They’re angry; they’re disgusted at what they see as a corrupt political system in this country.”
Sanders, who retains a strong following among young people who are a prized cohort in the election, accused Trump of hypocrisy. “You’ve got some middle-class people working longer hours for lower wages — they pay their taxes, they support their schools, they support their infrastructure, they support the military,” Sanders told CNN.
“But the billionaires? No, they don’t have to do that, because they have their friends on Capitol Hill. They pay zero in taxes. … So Trump goes around and says, ‘Hey, I’m worth billions, I’m a successful businessman but I don’t pay any taxes. But you, you make $15 an hour? You pay the taxes. not me.’ That is why people are angry and want real change in this country.”
The tax issue has crowded out other concerns, for now. But Trump is still dealing with the fallout from his public quarrel with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. She says he insulted her, calling her “Miss Piggy” and other names when he owned the Miss Universe pageant 20 years ago and felt she had gained too much weight as Miss Universe. Trump escalated his criticism against Machado last week, prompting a renewal of charges that he is sexist and can’t control his temper.
For her part, Clinton also is doing damage control. This focuses on her remarks in February at a private fundraiser (the audio of which leaked to the media) portraying young people who supported Sanders, then her rival for the Democratic nomination, as frustrated and unsettled. She said they were open to Sanders’ strong anti-Washington appeal because they felt left behind, weren’t doing well economically and sometimes had to live “in their parents’ basement.” Trump supporters say this showed disdain for young people, but Clinton backers say she was trying to show empathy.
[DECISION 2016: U.S. News Covers the Race to the White House]
Sanders was supportive of Clinton. Asked if her analysis “bothered” him, Sanders said, “Of course it does.” But he went on to agree with Clinton’s larger points. “If you listen to the whole discussion that she had, a very important point that she made is that a lot of young people who went into debt, worked very hard to get a good education, can’t find a job commensurate to the education that they received,” Sanders said. “….They are living in their parents’ basement and that’s the point.”
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Leaked Taxes, Comments Disrupt Trump, Clinton Campaigns originally appeared on usnews.com
