Trump Responds to NYT Tax Story and "Fake News Media" in String of Tweets

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Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 12:13 pm

President Donald Trump took to Twitter to attempt to discredit a bombshell New York Times story documenting his years of tax avoidance. The president, who has long established an image of himself as a billionaire and successful businessman, owes hundreds of millions in debts and used multiple tax schemes to pay only $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017 according to his tax returns, which he had long declined to make public.

Trump claimed he paid “many millions of dollars in taxes” in a tweet despite the Times‘s reporting.

“The Fake News Media, just like Election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information & only bad intent. I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits,” he wrote.

“Also, if you look at the extraordinary assets owned by me, which the Fake News hasn’t, I am extremely under leveraged – I have very little debt compared to the value of assets,” he continued. “Much of this information is already on file, but I have long said that I may release Financial Statements, from the time I announced I was going to run for President, showing all properties, assets and debts. It is a very IMPRESSIVE Statement, and also shows that I am the only President on record to give up my yearly $400,000 plus Presidential Salary!”

The Fake News Media, just like Election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information & only bad intent. I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2020

…..Also, if you look at the extraordinary assets owned by me, which the Fake News hasn’t, I am extremely under leveraged – I have very little debt compared to the value of assets. Much of this information is already on file, but I have long said that I may release….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2020

…..Financial Statements, from the time I announced I was going to run for President, showing all properties, assets and debts. It is a very IMPRESSIVE Statement, and also shows that I am the only President on record to give up my yearly $400,000 plus Presidential Salary!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2020

The news broke on the eve of the first presidential debate, which airs tomorrow.

According to the latest data from the New York Times/Siena College poll, Democrat Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by eight points nationwide. Biden leads 49 percent to Trump’s 41 percent among registered voters.