Donald Trump suggests the IRS is auditing him because he's 'a strong Christian'

Donald Trump suggests he&#039;s being persecuted by the IRS because he&#039;s &quot;a strong Christian&quot;

(Image credit: Michael Ciaglo-Pool/Getty Images)

After Thursday night's CNN Republican debate, Chris Cuomo talked to Donald Trump about this tax returns and the criticism from Mitt Romney. Trump said that Romney was a horrible candidate and is just trying to "remain relevant." Then he repeated his contention from the debate that he isn't releasing his returns because he's being audited. The repeated audits probably aren't fair, Trump added, then suggested that it's "maybe because of religion, maybe because of something else." Cuomo, surprised, asked what he meant. "Well, maybe because of the fact that I'm a strong Christian," Trump said, "and I feel strongly about it, and maybe there's a bias." Cuomo seemed a little incredulous. "You think you're being audited because you're a strong Christian?" he asked. "Well, you've seen what's happened," Trump said. You can watch the claims of persecution starting at about the 5-minute mark. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.