Washington, D.C.— Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the New York Times’ reporting on President Trump’s tax returns over the past two decades that show the president has paid almost nothing in federal income tax to support the government. Senator Schumer also said that the American people need to know to whom President Trump is indebted for hundreds of millions of dollars in personal obligations. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:
Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that President Trump “paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016, and nothing in 10 of the prior 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made.”
No New Yorker was all that surprised by this report.
All the hallmarks of President Trump’s career before and after politics are there: hyperbole, fraud, avoiding responsibility, pursuing selfish interests above all else. That's President Trump in a nutshell.
The documents obtained by the New York Times show a long history of President Trump’s egregious tax avoidance and potentially criminal activity, and including the astounding figure that the President owes nearly $500 million—$500 million—in personal obligations.
Who does he owe that money to? $500 million is not chump change. Who does President Trump owe $500 million to? If President Trump wants another four-year term as president, the people have to know who President Trump is so deeply indebted to.
These documents reveal that President Trump was an abject failure in business and a serial tax cheat.
We have already heard the president claim the reporting in the New York Times is fake. Well, President Trump: put your tax returns where your mouth is.
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