President Donald Trump dismissed Democrat demands for his tax returns on Wednesday, repeating that he will not release them while he is being audited.
“Remember, I got elected last time, the exact same issue, with the same intensity, which was not very much, because, frankly, the people don’t care,” Trump said as he left the White House for a trip to Texas. He reminded reporters that he had already released a 104-page summary of his business interests.
“Nobody wants to go over that because it’s so good. I built a great company,” he said.
Trump also reminded critics that he was under “no obligation” to release his tax returns despite Democrat protests that many previous candidates for president had done so.
“No lawyer would tell you to release your tax returns while you’re under audit,” Trump said.
Democrats in Congress demanded that the IRS and the Treasury Department release six years of the president’s tax returns, but Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said that he will defend the president’s right to privacy.
A Morning Consult/Politico poll released on Wednesday noted that 49 percent of registered voters cared about the issue while 42 percent did not care.
The poll also showed a partisan divide on the issue as only 18 percent of Republicans cared about the release of Trump’s tax returns while 78 percent of Democrats did care. Independents were split 44-43 percent.
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