The other day Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, responding to repeated calls for her boss to release his tax returns, said there really wasn’t any point because members of Congress are not “smart enough” to understand his tax returns.
What makes her, or anyone in the White House, capable of judging the intelligence of others? Their attitude of superiority should be an insult to everyone, not just members of Congress. Yes, President Trump’s tax returns are no doubt long and complex, likely filled with complicated efforts to shield income or other tricks to reduce his tax bill.
Yet his loyal supporters consider his refusal to share this information as a victory.
It has been said that this president is what weak people see as a strong person and what stupid people see as smart. This is the basis for Sanders’ comments. She is pushing the White House rhetoric that they are smarter and better than anyone else. When pushed, Trump makes the snarky comment, “I’m president and you’re not” to the raucous cheers of his base.
Claiming intellectual superiority is nothing new for this president and those who are paid to defend and promote him. Trump has repeatedly claimed he knows more than his generals and that his gut tells him more than the multiple intelligence reports he doesn’t read.
He regularly issues insults via Twitter to those who disagree with him and rants “Fake News” at any unfavorable coverage. His base insists this makes him smart.
If Trump is so smart, why has he threatened to sue the schools he attended if they release his grades or SAT scores? Obviously, with the size of Trump’s ego, if his grades and test scores were superior, they would have been promoted, not hidden. Remember? Trump claimed he graduated first in his class from the Wharton School at Penn. Not.
At the same time, when President Obama released his birth certificate, Trump changed tactics and demanded the release of Obama’s college transcripts. The base fails to see the hypocrisy in this.
So, what about his tax returns? During the presidential debates, when Hillary Clinton challenged him on not paying taxes, he retorted “That makes me smart”.Also, during the campaign, he promised to release his tax returns “when they aren’t under audit”; a claim the IRS says is blatantly false.
Then he promised to release his tax returns when he was elected, but backtracked soon after inauguration, saying “No one really cares” about his taxes”, contradicting a poll that states that a majority of Americans do.
How does the base respond to this constantly moving “line in the sand”?
Rather than admitting they’ve been lied to, they move along with the line, now standing by the claim that no law forces their hero to show his taxes. I doubt they would make the same claim if the president in question was a Democrat.
As many of us rushed this week to get our taxes filed on time, we saw ourselves either receiving a smaller return or actually paying, many for the first time, thanks to Trump’s “Tax Reform”. Meanwhile, Trump’s tax returns remain hidden.
It’s long past time to demand transparency in those who are supposed to represent us.
It’s time to take a stand!