Donald Trump’s lose-lose proposition
Donald Trump was in what for him was one hell of a dilemma. On the one hand he wanted all the tax deductions he could get because he hates paying taxes. I don’t think in this case I would be guilty of a Trump-style hyperbole by saying that nobody hates paying taxes more than Donald Trump. On the other hand he liked to be thought of as being filthy rich. But the best way not to pay taxes is to incur lots and lots of losses and thereby appear to be poor. What’s a megalomaniac grifter to do?
Answer, cheat on your taxes by claiming losses you don’t have and exaggerating the ones that you do — and hide your tax returns from the American people. Or, genuinely incur losses and report those losses on your tax return — and hide your tax returns from the American people. Either way you hide your tax returns from the American people.
Whichever case it turns out to be, according to his tax returns, the “billionaire” Donald Trump paid $1.8 million in federal income tax for the six years between 2015 and 2020. He declared $53 million in net losses over the period spanning his 2016 campaign for the White House and the bulk of his term as US president.
Say what you like about Donald Trump’s spectacularly bad month, this part is unquestionably the worst part for him. As a narcissist, Trump can easily convince himself (and believe himself) that he will stay out of prison. But having his tax returns (finally) published for the whole world to see is positively the worst thing that could ever happen to him. He loves parading himself as a rich man. He loves money more than anything else and therefore cheats on his tax returns.
But he can’t have it both ways. He can’t crow about how rich he is without paying the price in taxes. He can’t escape a huge tax bill without exploiting his losses. Either way Trump’s ego is taking a major hit, perhaps the biggest hit he’s ever had to endure in his life.
After four years of wrangling, and endless lies told by the ex-president, Trump’s tax returns have finally been released. They say Democrats don’t like to say this but I’m about to say it now: merry Christmas. Merry Christmas Donald Trump. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Trump is in pain right now, and I think we should never let him forget it: we’ve seen your tax returns Donald. We know what and who you really are.
If the punishment element is what you’re looking for then here it is. Ketchup bottles are undoubtedly now flying at Mar-a-Lago. For years Trump lied and told us he couldn’t release his tax returns because he was under audit. It turns out he wasn’t even under audit, or wasn’t under much of one. More on that should come out in the ensuing days and weeks. But whichever it was, you CAN disclose your tax returns if you’re under audit. We’ve known that from the beginning.
In any case, Trump continued to claim he wanted to release his tax returns but couldn’t, while desperately fighting to keep them secret in court, a lie that the mainstream media bafflingly let him get away with for years. But finally that particular chicken has come home to roost, it’s tormenting the vicious bastard to madness and I for one am glad. And a merry Christmas, brothers and sisters, to you as well. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.