During Monday’s first presidential debate, Donald Trump didn’t seem at all bothered about questions concerning his tax returns, and even bragged about his ability to pay little or no federal taxes.
Clinton was attempting to call her opponent out on his refusal to release his tax returns, something every candidate before him has done. Rather than appearing remorseful or offering to finally release the returns, Trump said that his tax evasion tactics made him “smart” rather than criminal.
Clinton was stating some lesser-known information about Trump’s tax documents,
“The only years that anybody’s ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax.”
As he did dozens of times throughout the evening, Trump interrupted Clinton to offer up a smug retort.
“That makes me smart,” he said with a smirk.
To the average law-abiding citizen who pays more than their fair share in taxes, the idea that a billionaire might brag about paying not a single penny to the federal fund should be infuriating.
Though Republicans may frame his statement as admirable, rather than shameful, it’s hard to see many blue-collar workers agreeing.
