9 ms·

Will it make a difference?

rsynnott 6y ago
Possibly marginally, but I would have thought that most people who’d be perturbed by this wouldn’t be voting for him anyway. I suppose there might be a few people who might otherwise be inclined to vote for him scared off by the national security implications of the massive personal debt (this was one of the things that REALLY worried people during the Cold War, as debt was a common angle used by the KGB to subvert people) but you’re probably not talking about a lot of people.
mhh__ 6y ago
Should it - yes. Will it - possibly not, on the one hand if you are supporting trump now what could possibly convince you although money is money: He's a terrible businessman, and he pays no tax. That's a huge amount of his appeal to some.
- tom_mellior 6y ago
  "He pays no tax" won't be a big deal since the Republican position has long been that tax breaks for Great Men are somehow good for the economy and therefore somehow good for everyone. "Terrible businessman" is the more interesting angle, but it will be covered up by the tax angle.
  - tertiary 6y ago
    I think the most interesting angle here are the hundreds of millions of dollars of loans that will come due in his second term. That's pretty terrifying especially given that to get that amount of money would require questionable lenders.
_jahh 6y ago
yes, even if minute having this is evidence rather than speculation of the scope of its fraudulence
TeeMassive 6y ago
As with all the other "bombshells"? No, because they were proven wrong or grossly exaggerated or simply because "according to people close to the President's thinking" is usually not considered credible for most reasonable people. The last time his tax records were leaked it turned out that it was very ordinary and no matter how much they try to spin on live tv (https://youtu.be/0eB-xjDMGdQ https://youtu.be/0eB-xjDMGdQ)
jliptzin 6y ago
No. They'll take what they like and call it being a "smart businessman," the rest they'll dismiss as fake news.
jimbob45 6y ago
Hard no. This has been an ongoing plot line for 5 years now for those of us who avidly follow politics. There’s nothing here that I would be able to explain to anyone that would surprise them. The real story is that they got leaked at all. I know there’s a huge left tile on HN so take your blue hat off for a minute and just think about this. The DNC has lusted after Trump’s returns for five years now. They finally acquired them (presumably at great expense) and published them immediately, not considering whether or not it would help their candidate. It stands to reason that they didn’t know what was in the returns if they went out of their way to obtain this nothingburger. Why publish them at all when you have the debate on Tuesday (that Trump will likely flub) that you could focus America on? Is the DNC more worried about this election than the polls show if they’re fishing like this? Disclaimer: The polls are generally accurate IMHO. Biden has a ~75% chance to win and I agree with that. I also think “X candidate is in DEEP trouble in the polls”-type headlines help X candidate more than the opposition because higher voter turnout is triggered when voters think their votes will matter.
- digitaltrees 6y ago
  What evidence do you have that the DNC was involved? That’s a serious allegation. What about claiming they had any hand in deciding when this should be released?

Possibly marginally, but I would have thought that most people who’d be perturbed by this wouldn’t be voting for him anyway. I suppose there might be a few people who might otherwise be inclined to vote for him scared off by the national security implications of the massive personal debt (this was one of the things that REALLY worried people during the Cold War, as debt was a common angle used by the KGB to subvert people) but you’re probably not talking about a lot of people.

mhh__ 6y ago

Should it - yes. Will it - possibly not, on the one hand if you are supporting trump now what could possibly convince you although money is money: He's a terrible businessman, and he pays no tax. That's a huge amount of his appeal to some.

tom_mellior 6y ago
"He pays no tax" won't be a big deal since the Republican position has long been that tax breaks for Great Men are somehow good for the economy and therefore somehow good for everyone. "Terrible businessman" is the more interesting angle, but it will be covered up by the tax angle.
- tertiary 6y ago
  I think the most interesting angle here are the hundreds of millions of dollars of loans that will come due in his second term. That's pretty terrifying especially given that to get that amount of money would require questionable lenders.

_jahh 6y ago

yes, even if minute having this is evidence rather than speculation of the scope of its fraudulence

TeeMassive 6y ago

As with all the other "bombshells"? No, because they were proven wrong or grossly exaggerated or simply because "according to people close to the President's thinking" is usually not considered credible for most reasonable people. The last time his tax records were leaked it turned out that it was very ordinary and no matter how much they try to spin on live tv (https://youtu.be/0eB-xjDMGdQ https://youtu.be/0eB-xjDMGdQ)

jliptzin 6y ago

No. They'll take what they like and call it being a "smart businessman," the rest they'll dismiss as fake news.

jimbob45 6y ago

Hard no. This has been an ongoing plot line for 5 years now for those of us who avidly follow politics. There’s nothing here that I would be able to explain to anyone that would surprise them. The real story is that they got leaked at all. I know there’s a huge left tile on HN so take your blue hat off for a minute and just think about this. The DNC has lusted after Trump’s returns for five years now. They finally acquired them (presumably at great expense) and published them immediately, not considering whether or not it would help their candidate. It stands to reason that they didn’t know what was in the returns if they went out of their way to obtain this nothingburger. Why publish them at all when you have the debate on Tuesday (that Trump will likely flub) that you could focus America on? Is the DNC more worried about this election than the polls show if they’re fishing like this? Disclaimer: The polls are generally accurate IMHO. Biden has a ~75% chance to win and I agree with that. I also think “X candidate is in DEEP trouble in the polls”-type headlines help X candidate more than the opposition because higher voter turnout is triggered when voters think their votes will matter.

digitaltrees 6y ago
What evidence do you have that the DNC was involved? That’s a serious allegation. What about claiming they had any hand in deciding when this should be released?