Trump ‘a genius’ if he did avoid paying taxes say supporters

Donald Trump may or may not have paid federal income taxes for years after losing nearly $916 million. But if he did avoid paying taxes, he’s a “genius” at taking advantage of a loophole-ridden law, his supporters have said. The New York Times on Sunday published “a very, very good story for Donald Trump,” Chris Christie said on “Fox News Sunday.” Rudy Giuliani called him an “absolute genius” on ABC’s “This Week.” And Trump himself weighed in, saying he was singularly qualified to fix a system he may have exploited. Democrats said Trump’s nearly $916 million loss in one year pokes holes in his claim to be a champion for working, tax-paying Americans. “He doesn’t care about those small businesses he didn’t pay. He doesn’t care about the people who lost millions of dollars in all of his bankruptcies,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Those losses represent real pain to many people who never got paid.”

I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them.

Donald Trump

Even as the story was published, the candidate and his surrogates were engrossed in an effort to change the subject from his feud with 1996 Miss Universe Alicia Machado and his middle-of-the-night tweet storm on the subject. On Saturday night in Manheim, Pennsylvania, Trump questioned Hillary Clinton’s loyalty to her husband and imitated her near-faint on Sept. 11 after being diagnosed for pneumonia. The New York Times report sheds light on some of the billionaire’s tax returns after Trump’s campaign refused to release any such documents, breaking with 40 years of presidential campaign tradition. Clinton has publicly released nearly 40 years’ worth, and Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has released 10 years of his tax returns. Trump has said his attorneys are advising him to keep his tax returns private until a government audit is completed. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told a House committee that people under IRS audit are free to release their returns or IRS letters informing a person they’re being audited.

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