Trump Faces Fallout From Tax Bombshell

He plans to switch focus to Clinton fortune
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 3, 2016 5:29 AM CDT
Updated Oct 3, 2016 6:06 AM CDT
Trump Faces Fallout From Bombshell Tax Report
This June 7, 1995 photo shows Donald Trump posing for photos above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after taking his flagship Trump Plaza Casino public in New York City.   (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Donald Trump's campaign is starting the week trying to move on from a bombshell report on his 1995 tax return—but it may not be easy changing the subject from what the Guardian calls his campaign's "biggest crisis yet." In what Rudy Giuliani calls a sign of "genius," Trump could have avoided federal income tax for up to 18 years after declaring a $916 million loss on his taxes in 1995. A round-up of coverage:

  • CNN asks and answers six questions raised by the tax revelations, including: "Will this hurt Trump in the Rust Belt?" and "Will Trump react by attacking Clinton?"

  • The New York Times, which broke the story after a mystery source mailed tax records to a reporter, takes a look at the tactics Trump could have used to turn the tax code into a tax shelter, "some of them considered highly aggressive and of dubious legitimacy."
  • Trump aides tell the Washington Post that they plan to "shine the spotlight very brightly on how the Clintons made their money." Trump, who will appear at a rally in Colorado on Monday, will cast himself as somebody who employed thousands building his real-estate empire while Bill and Hillary Clinton made their money giving speeches.
  • The Guardian has dug up plenty of Trump tweets on taxation, including this one from 2012: "HALF of Americans don't pay income tax despite crippling govt debt..."
  • The Wall Street Journal takes a close look at the section of the tax code Trump appears to have used. It's been around since 1918 and Congress hasn't made any serious moves toward getting rid of it.
  • The Washington Post spoke to voters in Toledo, Ohio, and found that while die-hard Trump supporters aren't too concerned by the news, voters closer to the middle ground are troubled by the implication that Trump is far from the successful businessman he claims to be.
  • With polls showing a shift toward Clinton, Trump's best chance for a reset will be the next debate, on Sunday, Oct. 9, and analysts say it can't come soon enough for him. "Donald Trump is facing a cascade of bad news and self-inflicted controversies at the worst possible moment for his candidacy," GOP strategist Ryan Williams tells Politico. "He has been gaining ground in both national and battleground state polls for several weeks, but now his momentum has been blunted and undecided voters are souring on his campaign."
(More Donald Trump stories.)

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