New York Daily News

I GAVE MNUCHIN YULE ‘LOG’

SCOOP ON TAX PROTEST POOP

- BY NICOLE HENSLEY and GRAHAM RAYMAN

THE SUPPOSED secret Santa who dropped a hefty pile of Christmas poo near Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s posh Bel Air pad said it represente­d the Trump administra­tion’s tax plan.

Los Angeles psychologi­st Robby Strong took credit for the stinker of a prank by sharing a copy of the card left with the special delivery Saturday.

He told the Daily News that he used the largest prewrapped box he could find and filled it with horse dung from a friend’s ranch.

“It was about as much as I could carry. More than that, it would have been difficult,” Strong said.

The salmon-colored envelope was addressed to “Stevie.”

“Mrs. Mnuchin & Trump, We’re returning the ‘gift’ of the Christmas tax bill. It’s bulls--t. Warmest wishes, the American People,” the note read.

“PS — Kiss Donald for me,” it continued.

Strong was first identified as the fecal benefactor by Al.com early Monday.

“I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Anybody could have done it. That was the beauty of it in a way,” he said.

“A lot of people are giving up hope these days. Sometimes, in the face of blind absurdity, the only thing you can do is absurd.”

Strong says he wished the poop had been stinkier. “With manure, they always mix it with hay,” he said. “To be perfectly honest, it was a benign pile of poop. Dog poop would have been way stinkier.”

As news of a gift-wrapped box packed with horse manure soiled the Christmas Eve news cycle, Strong shared a cheeky photo of himself posing with a present that appeared to resemble the one Los Angeles police examined Saturday night.

“Who coulda done such a thing,” he wrote.

The Kentucky native — who works at the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health — said on Facebook that Secret Service agents interviewe­d him about the smelly stunt Sunday evening.

He doubts he will face federal repercussi­ons from the agents. He felt bad they had to work Christmas Eve.

“This is a glorified frat boy prank,” he said. “How much can you punish someone for dropping box of doody?”

He said his two sons, 7 and 4, know about the stunt.

“They understand that dad made a funny prank on mean people, who are taking money away from people,” he added.

Strong earlier exchanged poop emojis with a News reporter.

Mnuchin has claimed that the tax plan will not only “pay for itself but will pay down the (national) debt.”

Financial experts say it will substantia­lly add to the debt.

Facts aren’t the only thing Mnuchin’s been accused of being cavalier with.

In August, Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, took a taxpayer-funded private jet to Kentucky, where they viewed the solar eclipse. Mnuchin maintains he was there on government business.

It was one of seven such trips he took at taxpayers’ expense. The Treasury Department’s inspector general found no wrongdoing.

 ??  ?? Robby Strong said manure delivery symbolized stinky tax plan.
Robby Strong said manure delivery symbolized stinky tax plan.
 ??  ?? L.A. shrink Robby Strong (left) said box of horse manure (bottom) he sent Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and wife Louise Linton (right) was his way of “returning the ‘gift’ of the Christmas tax bill.”
L.A. shrink Robby Strong (left) said box of horse manure (bottom) he sent Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and wife Louise Linton (right) was his way of “returning the ‘gift’ of the Christmas tax bill.”
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States