It is probably obvious to everybody, by now, that despite his victories in 3 of the first 4 primaries, Donald Trump is not a favorite of the GOP establishment in the race for the presidential nomination. Both parties are now becoming increasingly worried about the New York billionaire’s increasing grip on the GOP nomination.
In fact, concern has grown to such an extent, that the former GOP candidate in the 2012 presidential race, Mitt Romney has launched a surprise attack against Donald Trump, using his tax returns as a weapon.
Is Trump hiding something?
The former GOP candidate has requested that Donald Trump disclose his tax returns, suspecting that foul play may be involved in the real-estate tycoon’s fortune. So far, Donald Trump has failed to disclose his returns, saying that these documents are complex and that he tries to pay as little as possible, as he considers that the United States Government is wasting a great deal of money.
Mitt Romney is no stranger to such requests, however. During the 2012 election, he found himself under similar pressure, coming from the opposition in this case – Nevada Senator Harry Reid was the one who claimed in 2012 that the former Massachusetts governor had not paid any taxes in the last 10 years.
Mitt Romney’s campaign was affected by a similar attack
The attack had a strong impact on Romney’s campaign, as it turned out that during 2010 he had only paid approximately 14% in taxes – much lower than the average American. This ultimately led to the Obama campaign branding him as out of touch with the struggles of the middle-class tax payer and a heartless and ruthless businessman.
There are some conclusions to be drawn from Mitt Romney’s attack, which may very well be labeled as an inside job. The first one is that the GOP establishment is definitely becoming restless at the thought of Donald Trump securing the presidential nomination, despite all odds.
A self-funded candidate such as Trump, in the eventuality of a win, would prove very difficult to sway in a direction or another. Furthermore, despite his controversial public statements, Donald Trump does represent a new wave in American politics – one that is characterized by a representation much more in tune with the voice of the average voter. If anything can be said about Donald Trump’s campaign is that it has been based on what his target demographic wants, irrespective of political correctness or controversy.
Trump could benefit from this whole situation
Since the issue of taxes has been an Achilles’ heel for Mitt Romney in 2012, it may be that the Republican Party is attempting a preemptive strike, trying to rob Democrats of a potential weapon against Donald Trump if he wins the nomination, or actually use any potential issues found in his tax returns as a means to deny him the nomination, in favor of a more establishment-oriented candidate. The Washington Post has quoted Mitt Romney saying that all three front-runners should disclose their tax returns in order to ensure that any issues are discovered.
The issue has the potential to backfire, with Donald Trump’s tax returns coming back completely clean. In this case, the millionaire will have only to gain. It would be interesting to see, however, what the other candidates’ tax returns look like. Indeed, any issue found with young Marco Rubio’s finances would definitely leave the GOP in a very serious situation.
