Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell burbles out the most mealy-mouthed set of words on Trump refusing to release his tax returns that could possibly be burbled:
"Well, most candidates for president have [released their returns] and that's been the tradition in the past," McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Tuesday. "He'll have to make that decision himself but that's certainly been the pattern for quite some time."
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Way to take a stand there, sport. It has indeed been the pattern for quite some time, primarily because it's one of the very few ways Americans can check to make sure they're not electing a complete crook. It'd be nice to know that the candidate, say, didn't own a majority stake in Child Labor LLC, or didn't write off his neighbor's dog as a dependent.
Count that as just one of many, many "traditions" Donald Trump has clubbed to death with the business end of a shovel during this campaign. Don't you worry, though, the powerful Sen. Mitch McConnell will rouse himself to have an opinion on that anytime now. Just you wait, he will definitely be saying a thing. He's building to it, you can tell.
Incidentally, let’s quickly dispense of the silliest theories as to why Donald Trump suddenly doesn't want Americans to know his tax status. There is one and only one reason that Donald J. Trump would refuse to release evidence of his stunningly big business success, and that is that they would show he's not nearly as wealthy as he claims to be. Not even by half. Probably not even one-eighth.
Yes, while Donald Trump's entire schtick is built around playing a rich man on TV, it must chap him something fierce to know that being TV rich and being rich rich are two separate things, and he's just a piker when it comes to the world of the ultra-rich that he tries to play in. That's why Sheldon Adelson will likely be spending more money to get Trump elected than Trump will pry loose himself, for example. Isn't that, you know, odd?
So spread the word: Donald Trump is not as rich as he says he is. His hands aren't as big as he says they are, and his wallet isn't as big as he says it is.
You want to piss Donald Trump off, that's how to piss him off. The man has built his entire ego around gold leaf this and gold plated that—his every tweet and twitch are a monument to his own insecurity. He’ll never release tax returns that show him to be worth less than he’s been telling all of us he’s worth. He’d rather be boiled in truffle oil.
As for Mitch McConnell: Good God, man, have some dignity. Rent some if you have to. Your party is being taken over by an angry yelling clown and the best any of you can do is mutter about broken traditions? No wonder House Republicans have been walking all over you.