russians

The Democrats want to take a look at Donald Trump’s taxes. What are they going to find that we don’t already know?

We already know that Trump doesn’t pay a lot of taxes. He says this makes him smart, and you know what? It does. Who doesn’t want to take advantage of the tax code and its loopholes?

The tax returns might also show that Trump is not as wealthy as he claims to be. But we already know this as well. The fact that Donald Trump exaggerates his wealth, hand size or whatever when it suits him is not going to shock anyone.

So why is Trump fighting so hard to keep his taxes private? One reason is ego – he doesn’t want to have to admit that he exaggerates his wealth. But there is probably a bigger reason.

Trump’s tax returns likely contain a whole bunch of information about who he is doing business with. His partnerships are probably with obscure off shore entities, but some journalist is eventually going to figure out who is behind them.

When the world sees who Trump is doing business with it is not going to look good for him. Nor will it be good for Trump’s business partners. None of them will appreciate being in the spotlight.

So far, Donald Trump has been uncharacteristically restrained in his comments about his son’s dealings with the Russians. One would have expected him to be very vocal about the attacks on his namesake. There are a number of possible reasons why Trump is holstering his Twitter handle on this one.

He knows it is bad and is hoping it blows over
He does not want to say anything that may later be proven to be a lie by his son
He is keeping his powder dry in case his son really gets into trouble
He is selling his son down the river to deflect attention from himself

It is hard to imagine that the last reason is valid considering the tight family circle that is Trump Inc. After all, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son in law, was also involved, and if it turns out illegalities were performed, the two of them might go down together.

No, it is probably a combination of the first three reasons, with the emphasis on the first one. Trump is smart enough to know that the issue has absolutely no chance of blowing over if he goes to the mat on it.

It likely won’t blow over though, so look for papa bear to come out swinging on behalf of his cubs when things heat up.

Rantastic

The Truth About Trump’s Taxes

Where’s Papa Bear?