The Emperor Has No Clothes, But He Does Have a $70,000 Haircut
The New York Times has Donald Trump's tax returns going back two decades. For weeks now reporters, accountants, along with tax and corporate lawyers have been reviewing what are likely tens of thousands of data points.
For now anyway, we’ll have to take the NYT’s word for it that they received the documents from a “source who was authorized” to possess them. They won’t be showing us the actual documents because there’s something in or on them that will blow the cover of whomever possessed them. Given the Trump organization’s affinity for using the resources of the government to punish whistleblowers, and the threats posed by his cult followers, this seems like a wise call.
The President, of course, has already declared the NYT story to be fake news. After a six hour pause, his twitter tantrum restarted, and there were two things he wanted us to know.
First, he’s really rich. Really, really, really. Us peasants couldn’t possibly understand what it’s like to be really, really, really rich.
Secondly, he’s upset that former vice President Joe Biden’s campaign has refused to play along with a request for a pre-debate drug test. If Trump had feelings, they probably would have been hurt by the Biden campaign’s response:
Joe Biden "intends to deliver his debate answers in words. If the president thinks his best case is made in urine he can have at it. We’d expect nothing less from Donald Trump, who pissed away the chance to protect the lives of 200K Americans when he didn't make a plan to stop COVID-19."
Oh, snap!
Two decades worth of tax returns, which unfortunately don’t include the last two years, will provide the Times with weeks of unpleasantness, as details see the light of day.
Day one gave us 18 nuggets of billionaire-style nastiness. The problem with this story is that it is massive. It’s gonna soak in more like a marinade than a spice rub as his goose is cooked.
This will allow Trump’s court jesters and media accomplices to obsess over trivia they interpret differently ---$70,000 for hairstyling is “completely reasonable”-- and spin big number details, like “it’s perfectly natural to take a $100,000,000 loan (and not pay any principal) to keep the empire afloat.”
https://twitter.com/nytopinion/status/1310602711688196097?s=20
So, while reasonable people are aghast at the revelations about just how big a schmuck Donald Trump is, remember that his mostly white male supporters won’t hear anything but noise.
https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1310605501974097920?s=20
Therefore, it behooves the media and assorted pundits to lead their coverage with very short snips of Trumpian misdeeds. And us folks on social media need to repeat them often.
Here’s my short list, for starters:
Donald Trump isn’t rich. Based on his taxes, he’s poorer than the undocumented employees who worked at his resorts until last year.
He just owes a lot of money. There are $300 million in loans he’s personally responsible for coming due over the next four years and his best shot at avoiding them involves staying in office.
“His properties have become bazaars for collecting money directly from lobbyists, foreign officials and others seeking face time, access or favor.” --NYT
Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in office, he paid another $750. He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years.
While he has used huge financial losses in just about every segment of his empire to avoid paying taxes, he’s enjoyed a lavish lifestyle and deducted much of it from his tax bill. That $70,000 for hairstyling is just one example.
If the story about his taxes is “fake news,” why doesn’t Trump just release his tax returns? There is no legal reason why he can’t.
https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1310369811466268674?s=20
There will be those who will claim Trump’s tax returns are an example of shrewd business, capitalizing on legal loopholes. Yeah, but his methods bordered on criminal and contributed to making the system grossly unfair, writes Nathan Robinson at the Guardian:.
When billionaires don’t pay their taxes, the rest of us have to cover the gaps. When you look at your own tax bill, understand that it could be lower if super-wealthy people like Trump weren’t trying to shift the burden on to everyone else. You paid for Trump’s $73m tax refund and he’s laughing all the way to the bank.
While I don’t think for a minute that any right thinking MAGA person (Me! Me! Me!) will be troubled by the above, should we end up with Democrats in charge, we can start with Trump’s taxes as a roadmap towards making the rich and the reckless pay their fair share.
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1310361967429853185?s=20
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Lead image via Pixabay