By Deplorable Andrew Allen
The gym I go to – it’s one of those fitness centers that goes along with the rent one pays to live where I do – has televisions. I go to the gym frequently, and especially early on Sunday mornings before my wife, kid, and two dogs are up and about. Normally I have it all to myself on Sunday mornings but not always. When I have it all to myself I normally turn the TV’s off. This past Sunday I had company and the gym televisions were tuned to ABC News. Lucky me. George Stephanopoulos was on babbling about a “bombshell” item in the New York Times about Donald Trump’s tax returns.
If I Had a Nickel for Every Trump “Bombshell” That Dropped
Someone once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Evidently, those bastions of sanity that are the mainstream media didn’t get the memo. Trump bombshells have come and gone. None have affected the trajectory of his campaign. So why would Stephanopoulos think Trump’s tax returns would be any different?
Put that question on hold for a moment and consider that the tax return in question is 21 years old. That’s right. It’s a 1995 tax return. Think about this for a moment; in 1995:
• People were discovering a newfangled thing called the internet.
• Pagers, not cell phones, were the personal communication device of choice.
• Showgirls was the taboo movie de jure because the starring actress had previously been on TV show Saved by The Bell and well, she was like on Saved by The Bell so it was somehow dirty that she was in Showgirls too.
• The San Diego Chargers actually went to a Superbowl.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 4,000 for the first time in history.
• Oasis were expected to be as big if not bigger than The Beatles ever were.
• War and ethnic cleansing scorched central Europe.
• Johnnie Cochran said “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” during the OJ Simpson trial.
• There were government shutdowns and nobody died, went hungry, or otherwise suffered. (In fact, back then I lived in the DC area and enjoyed a traffic-free commute into work since most federal employees stayed home during the shutdowns leaving the beltway nearly empty.)
• George Stephanopoulos worked as a senior advisor in the Clinton White House.
And Donald Trump filed a tax return. In 1995! If that tax return was a person it would be enjoying that uniquely American rite of passage in which a 21-year-old goes to a store, puts beer on the counter, and pays for it without using a fake ID for the very first time in his or her life.
But It Could Mean Nobody Has a Friggin Clue
Ever the parrot – administration parrot was one of Stephanopoulos’s jobs in the Bill Clinton White House — Stephanopoulos was quick to cut and paste New York Times talking points into his delivery on ABC Sunday Morning. Trump reported a loss in 1995. That “could mean” Trump didn’t pay taxes at all for years, George said. Years and years! Years and years and years even!!
Oh.
The.
Humanity.
Could doesn’t mean did and it doesn’t mean did not. Could means nobody has a friggin’ clue. It could be that, despite taking a massive financial loss, Trump rebounded and went on to pay taxes. Or it could be that he didn’t. Whether he did or didn’t remains to be determined. And when it is?
Nobody’s gonna care. Does George Stephanopoulos think that Trump’s supporters are going to pack up and stay home because of a 21-year-old tax return? Hillary’s supporters certainly haven’t vanished in the wake of her many, many scandals. Trump’s voters aren’t going to budge and neither are Hillary’s.
That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works anymore.
To Be Continued …
Image: By Tulane Public Relations – http://www.flickr.com/photos/tulanesally/3486488288/in/photostream/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16893714
