Here's why Trump and Clinton are talking about Trump's business acumen, not tax avoidance


Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump's campaigns agree on one thing: The potential damage from the revelation in The New York Times that Trump could have avoided paying federal income taxes for 18 years after declaring a $916 million loss in 1995 isn't the taxes part, CBS News' chief White House correspondent Major Garrett explained Monday night. "It's not so much tax fairness, that's a secondary issue," he said. "Both campaigns know the biggest vulnerability exposed by this story was Trump was a crappy businessman in the '90s. And Trump knows that's a big vulnerability if that becomes a cemented attitude about his relationship to business and business acumen."
Trump is trying to argue that the real story is that he was a "tough, stalwart businessman who used every tool imaginable to save his company," including using "creative approaches to the tax code," Garrett said. But that story "will probably not stand up to the test of time or more intense scrutiny." The things Trump "glossed over," he explained, include that "the recession of 1990-91 was one of the most mild of the postwar era," that "it didn't particularly hit the real estate market as much as Trump represented," and that his losses were actually from his almost-bankrupted airline and the "pretty strategic miscalculations" Trump made with his Atlantic City casinos. Watch below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
June 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Donald Trump's golden comb-over, brain drain in America, and a new TACO presidential seal.
-
5 cartoons about the TACO trade
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on America's tariffs, Vladimir Putin waiting for taco Tuesday, and a new presidential seal
-
A city of culture in the high Andes
The Week Recommends Cuenca is a must-visit for those keen to see the 'real Ecuador'
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect