Donald Trump’s tax returns
Ethics, or lack thereof, have been a big issue in Donald Trump’s administration. After being the first presidential nominee since Richard Nixon not to release his tax returns, Trump has done everything possible to prevent anyone from accessing them. When asked by reporters on Monday how he feels about Democrats being able to subpoena his taxes should they retake the House, Trump answered, “I don’t care. They can do whatever they want and I can do whatever I want.” While that ominous response foreshadows Trump’s desperation to literally do whatever he wants, it also exemplifies his fear about the real possibility that his taxes will likely become public.
Also revealed on Monday, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) reported that Trump’s daughter and White House advisor Ivanka was granted sixteen new trademarks from the Chinese government in October. Despite announcing her clothing brand was shutting down in July, the revelation that Ivanka received the largest number of new trademarks since her father’s inauguration details further ethical issues in the administration. This comes after she received multiple trademarks back in May, just days after meeting personally and dining with Chinese President Xi Jinpipng. While there are currently no allegations of wrongdoing, one of the recent trademarks Ivanka received were for voting machines, which is simply strange given the political timeframe in which we are living.
Further ethical questions involving the Trump family and the Chinese government were brought to light in a recent Forbes article. A Manhattan skyscraper at 1290 Avenue of the Americas is partially owned by Trump and partially financed directly by the Chinese government. With Trump’s recent announcement that he is ramping up his already terrible trade war with China, any financial relationship between him and China creates even more ethical issues.
This agreement would be worrisome simply for the current relationship between Trump and Xi, but it’s made even worse by the fact Trump kept this deal a secret and did not report it in his 92-page annual financial disclosure report. This is just another reason that Democrats need to subpoena Trump’s taxes once they have the power to do so.
I’m a ceramic engineer living in Central New York, avid sports fan but find myself more interested in politics lately.