After hounding Donald Trump about his taxes for a year to no avail, liberals are hoping they’ve finally found the silver bullet that will sink the Republican nominee on this issue. The New York Times reports a his 1995 tax return shows a $916 million loss for that year. According to tax experts, this may mean Trump was able to use that loss to cancel out taxable income for up to 18 years. If true, it could mean that the Democrats’ accusations that the billionaire won’t release his returns because they show he hasn’t paid any taxes.
This is as close to a “Eureka” moment as we are likely to get when it comes to exposing Trump as a rich man who pays no taxes. But his opponents are probably exaggerating the effect this will have on the election. As Trump has already proved, Americans resent the rich a lot less than many pundits always assumed they did.
Trump is running for president in no small measure on the idea that only a wealthy man who has gamed the system can fix Washington corruption. This is a dubious assumption. Trump has shown no sign of the knowledge he would need to change how the government does business or any support for the sort of necessary reforms—such as those proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan—that might actually make it better. But a lot of voters seem to think his ability to use loopholes and influence peddling is a sign he can create more fairness.
Paying taxes may strike some of us as a civic duty, especially for someone with great wealth who aspires to political power. But this is a complex matter; who wouldn’t take advantage of tax laws if they could save us money? His willingness to say he does so openly lends weight to the notion that he is a straight shooter, which is a useful reputation for someone whose statements on just about every topic tend to have only a passing acquaintance with the truth.
The Clinton campaign will probably trumpet the Times findings and she will probably seek to hammer him on it at their next debate. But the betting here is that the impact of this revelation will be less than that of the self-inflicted wounds Trump dealt himself as result of his pushback against charges of misogyny last week. Trump’s obsessive counterattack against former Miss Universe Alicia Machado was a foolish mistake, as was the willingness of his supporters to join in an all-out push to smear her during the crucial days after his poor performance in the first debate.
Trump’s bizarre 3-5 a.m. Twitter session on Friday morning was the sort of gift to the Clinton campaign no Times investigation can provide. Whatever one may think of Machado—and she has more than her share of skeletons in her closet—the spectacle of a man who wants to be president staying up late spewing venom against an individual who dared to criticize him and even urging his millions of followers to watch a sex tape is the sort of thing that rightly scares voters. More than his taxes.
