Trump Has One Glaring Vulnerability

Columnist: Refusal to release taxes shows he's a 'total fraud'
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted May 16, 2016 10:29 AM CDT
Trump Has One Glaring Vulnerability
Donald Trump speaks in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Donald Trump is refusing to release his tax returns, repeating a pattern that Jonathan Chait of New York says goes back years. He first promises to do so, then finds some excuse to avoid it. His current reasoning is that there's "nothing to learn from them." Chait, though, argues that this issue could well be his Kryptonite, one that Hillary Clinton should exploit. "It might be the thin end of the wedge that opens up a powerful theme against the self-professed billionaire: that Trump is a total fraud." Trump claims to be worth about $10 billion, but business reporters have alleged that the real figure is far less, perhaps as low as $150 million. The reason it matters is that Trump's appeal revolves around his money and his purported business acumen.

"The reality of Trump’s business career is that he is not so much a great businessman but somebody who has figured out how to make money by convincing people that he is one," writes Chait. He's even facing a trial over allegations that his Trump University was essentially a scam, a trial he's managed to have postponed until after the election. Clinton should hammer this "fraud" theme over and over, suggests Chait. Trump could easily deflect the issue by releasing his returns or moving up his trial date, but he won't. "Trump is a fraud—a charge he wants to deny on the basis of evidence he refuses to disclose—and he should bear the presumption of guilt." Click for the full column. (More Donald Trump 2016 stories.)

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