Joe Scarborough Predictably Comes To Trump’s Defense Over Release Of Tax Returns
On Wednesday, perhaps the most unlikely person in the world came out of the woodwork to hammer current Republican Presidential favorite Donald Trump on his lack of transparency over his taxes. Speaking to Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney said that Trump might be deliberately avoiding releasing his latest tax returns because they might conceal a “bombshell” that could derail his campaign.
Of course, Romney talking shit about someone else’s tax returns is ironically funny, due to the fact that he delayed releasing his during the 2012 campaign. After they had been finally released, he had to deal with the fallout over his paying a very low rate while making millions. However, at the same time, one can also say that Mittens is singularly qualified to call out another rich candidate for trying to hide his returns, considering his own experience.
Anyway, after Mitt made his comments on Fox, Trump reacted how he always does — by sending mean tweets. And, on Thursday morning, his personal valet made sure to vociferously defend him. During a Morning Joe segment, Joe Scarborough said that it really isn’t necessary for Trump to release his tax returns.
Yes, even though all Presidential candidates have traditionally released their returns, and Hillary Clinton has made available her last eight years’ worth, Joe thinks this is all pointless and just a way to be mean to Daddy. When discussing Romney calling out Trump, Joe said that he looks at this the same way as Hillary’s paid speech transcripts, in that only when everyone releases all of theirs should Donald release his. (False equivalence much, Joe?)
He then got into a little back and forth with panelist Steve Rattner, who pointed out that Trump’s returns are relevant because the public should know who they are voting for and if he is trying to hide something. This led to Scarborough saying Romney’s were only a political issue because people wanted to see what rate he paid. Obviously, Joe didn’t realize he’d immediately contradicted himself on the Hillary transcript thing as that has become a hot-button topic based on accusations that she’s too close to Wall Street, but whatever.
Joe also noted that he thinks this is all due to New York bigwigs doubting Trump’s net worth claims and they just want to see for themselves. When Rattner countered that The Donald might be paying low or no taxes, and that this could be seen as a negative among working class voters, Joe said that isn’t a problem, as he personally knows that isn’t the case. Seriously, he said that. On the air. And Mika just agreed with him because of course.
Meanwhile, Mediaite’s Alex Griswold has been aggregating Trump comments from the past where he’s said he would totally release his tax returns if he ran for President. In 2012, while calling into Fox & Friends, Trump said he’d have no problem releasing his returns if he were in Romney’s shoes, who was dealing with the fallout over his. Last year, while on Hugh Hewitt’s program, he promised that he’d release multiple years taxes if he ran. Also, Trump spokesman Katrina Pearson criticized Romney in 2012 for not releasing his returns in a timely fashion.
Will his hypocrisy have any impact on his campaign? You already know the answer to that.
