Protesters urge Trump tax returns
Participants of rallies paid by someone: Trump
Thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in cities across the US to pressure President Donald Trump to release his tax returns, a move of transparency he has repeatedly refused.
The demonstrations were timed to coincide with the traditional April 15 deadline for annual tax filings, a massive date on the calendar for US households, and resulted in dozens of arrests.
Trump tweeted on Sunday that “I did what was an almost an impossible thing to do for a Republican- easily won the Electoral College, Now Tax Returns are brought up again?”
“Someone should look into who paid for the small organized rallies yesterday. The election is over!” he added.
For decades, US presidents and presidential candidates have released their returns voluntarily, although there is no legal obligation to do so.
US law requires only the publication of a financial statement that estimates assets, including debt and revenue, but does not give details on the amount of taxes paid.
Trump released a financial statement but has kept his tax returns private, both during the election campaign and since taking office in January.
Protesters and political rivals have said he should make a fuller disclosure to remove any inkling of potential conflicts of interest between his business interests and his political decisions.
“Until he does, we’ll never know what he’s hiding or who his policies are designed to benefit,” said organizers of the “Tax March” demonstrations on its website. “We need a president who works for all Americans – and a tax system that does, too,” it added.
At least 21 demonstrators were arrested after Trump opponents and supporters clashed at a march in Berkeley, California, US media said.
In Washington, several thousand protesters of all ages gathered in front of the Capitol building housing Congress, holding signs such as “What is he hiding?” and “Real men pay their taxes.”
A huge inflatable chicken with an orange- gold beak and a swirl of hair resembling Trump’s mane was displayed on the sidelines of the Wash- ington protest, and at other venues.
It was seen by some as the unofficial mascot for the protest – to suggest that the Republican president was afraid, or chicken, to publish his records.
Ellen Lodwick, 67, a retired corporate researcher from Maryland who has participated in anti- Trump demonstrations since election, said that “there are many illegal or questionable investments in things that could affect how he looks at government and legislation, because he’s too connected.”
The protesters then marched along Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House, shouting “shame” as they passed by the Trump International Hotel.