I used to be convinced that Trump’s desire to be re-elected stemmed solely from his concern that he would be headed to jail once he left office. That is, until I saw the information that has been published about his tax return. Now, I am convinced that a part of his desire to stay in office is that the Presidency becomes a new way for him to avoid paying his bills.
First, Trump very possibly misused a tax provision that provided him a refund of more than $70 million. He is currently being audited over this, and if disallowed, he will owe the IRS approximately $100 million in back taxes and penalties alone. As well, Trump has been funneling money to his daughter, Ivanka. But, instead of either of them paying gift tax on the money, he has called it contractor fees. Ivanka then declares the money as income.
There are other tax fraud schemes that the whole Trump family uses to avoid paying their fair share, but it is not necessary for me to list each one. More details will come out over the next few weeks, I am sure. For now, I want to talk about how Trump will likely use a second term to avoid paying his gargantuan debt.
Donald Trump is currently responsible for over $400 million in loans and debt. Much of this money comes due over the next four years. If he is re-elected, it would be hard to imagine how his lenders would be able to call in those debts, or to foreclose on the properties involved in those loans. I have no doubt that Bill Barr would bring to bear the entire force of the Federal government against any attempt. But, that would probably not be necessary as Trump could use the Presidency itself as a shield against any legal action.
For these reasons, and future prosecution that he is currently shielded from as President, Donald has no choice but to fight tooth and nail to remain in the White House. His efforts to call the election into question, and his current attempt to place an extreme conservative onto the Supreme Court to tilt the balance of power, are just a part of his machinations.
As a side note, it is amusing to note that these revelations are still managing to give the masses something to discuss that avoids the actual problem. Trump has managed not to pay taxes for several years. He also managed to only have to pay $750 in taxes his first two years in office. This is a major topic of conversation on social media and is distracting from the real issues that are laid out in this article.
I have no doubt that more will come out. I also have no doubt that any of this will have absolutely no effect on the opinion of his base. But, we must keep up the fight. Our future depends on it.