The idea of the October surprise has become a little watered down since 1980. Just ask the Hillary-haters who got up at the crack of dawn earlier this week to see what Wikileaks had brung them.
But here’s a surprise that would actually be surprising.
Donald Trump may have one last tax card to play, and it’s a doozy: his 2015 tax return.
In little-noticed comments after his first debate with Hillary Clinton, the Republican presidential candidate suggested he would make that return public within weeks.
“My current returns will be released as soon as they’re complete,” he said, according to video posted on Twitter by NBC reporter Katy Tur.
Although Mr. Trump’s campaign didn’t respond to questions about that comment, his latest tax return is likely in the final stages of preparation. Many taxpayers with complicated finances seek automatic six-month extensions from the IRS. That would make his due date Oct. 17.
So, after all the dodging, hiding, pretense about audits, and flat out lies, are we about to see something after all? It would be surprising. Even to Trump's spokesperson.
CNN: What about federal income taxes?
Miller: Mr. Trump has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. He’s paid all the taxes that he owes, and when the routine audit is complete and those are released, you will see just that.
Note that Miller doesn’t actually say that Trump has paid hundreds of millions in federal income tax, and again we’re back to the great wall of audit, which can apparently be scaled by everyone except Donald Trump. So If you put Trump Tax Day down on your calendar, don’t be shocked if the only surprise you get is more excuses.
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Why, after all the damage done by not releasing his taxes to this point, would Trump suddenly make a document dump with less than a month left in the campaign? Maybe to prove that he did pay taxes. Maybe in hopes of changing the focus after the New York Times story. Maybe … it doesn’t have to make sense, because it’s Donald Trump. Which should be no surprise by now.