In the dark
Questions remain about Trump.
Looking at television news, you would think the most important issue of the election was Hillary Clinton’s emails. According to the Tyndall Report, which tracks nightly news programs, the evening news on ABC, CBS and NBC has spent more time this year reporting on that topic than every other policy issue combined. It was wrong for her to run email over a private server — something that Clinton herself admitted — but 2016 shouldn’t be a single-issue election.
Let’s not forget that Donald Trump has been wracked by scandals that would dominate any other election.
Tax returns
Mike Pence promised during the vice presidential debate that Trump would release his tax returns. So far that promise has gone unfulfilled.
Voters are still in the dark about how much the Republican presidential candidate earns, how much he has donated to charity and how much he has paid in taxes. Beyond personal habits, voters still don’t know whether Trump has financial ties with foreign governments.
Trump University fraud
Paging Dr. Freud. At a speech in Florida last month, Trump told his supporters to vote on Nov. 28. Oops. That’s not Election Day, but it is still an important day on Trump’s calendar — the trial date in a class-action lawsuit against Trump University.
The now-closed unaccredited university promised to provide students with insights and lessons about the real estate world. The reality, according to former customers, was closer to a late-night infomercial that pressured people to spend tens of thousands on more classes. Voters will go to the polls uncertain about the outcome of this lawsuit.
Self-serving charity
Trump made promises over the years about donating to deserving charities. Thanks to the astounding work of Washington Post journalist David A. Fahrenthold, the public now knows that, except for one occasion between 2008 and this spring, Trump failed to back his boasts with actual cash. Instead, the largess has gone to Trump’s own Donald J. Trump Foundation, which has been caught funding his own personal projects. What’s worse is that Trump stopped giving to the foundation after 2008 and had been running on other people’s money. Plenty of questions remain about the Trump Foundation that his campaign has refused to answer.
Clinton has spent decades subject to deep political scrutiny. Trump, on the other hand, has been held to the standard of a reality television show host. Voters deserve to know the truth about Trump. With only one week until Election Day, it may already be too late.