Elizabeth Warren Calls Donald Trump Out For Skipping Taxes
Editor’s Note: While this isn’t explicitly stated below, Trump has mentioned before an intention to all but wipe out the “Department of Environmental” (which is actually named the Environmental Protection Agency) if elected president. He clearly isn’t fond of paying taxes, and it seems he wants to engage in the counterproductive task of demolishing the critical government agency that keeps our water and air clean. He’s made similar statements regarding other important governmental departments as well. In light of that, check out the latest news regarding Donald Trump and potential Vice President candidate Elizabeth Warren, via Red, Green, and Blue:
Elizabeth Warren is piling on to Donald Trump’s latest Bad Week, launching a powerhouse video that asks 
just how and why it is that “Billionaire” Trump isn’t paying taxes.
The latest Warren video comes on the heels of the firing of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, and a slough of press stores about how his campaign is flat broke, and even more stories looking at Trump’s SEC filings and asking “How is it that of the money that the Trump campaign has spent so far, $6 million went to Trump organizations and companies, including a SALARY to Donald himself that amounts to $500k per year?”
But Senator Professor Warren has an even juicier question. “If Trump is as rich as he claims he is, how comes he’s not paying taxes? Is Donald Trump a fraud? Or just a cheater?”
You can watch the full video here. And the full transcript follows:
I have to be honest: It’s hard to talk about Donald Trump. Between his ignorance, racism, sexism, lies, it’s hard to know where to start. But we’ve got to start somewhere and today I want 
to focus on one lie that helps sum up what Donald J. Trump is all about; his taxes.
You know, we don’t actually know what Donald Trump pays in taxes because he is the first presidential nominee in 40 years to refuse to disclose his tax return.
(Video shows Mitt Romney, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio saying there’s a ‘bombshell’ in his taxes.)
Maybe he’s just a lousy businessman who doesn’t want you to find out he’s worth a whole lot less than he claims. We really can’t know for sure. Here’s what we do know. The last time Donald Trump’s taxes were made public, it turned out Donald Trump paid nothing in federal taxes. Zero. Zero taxes before and for all we know, zero taxes today. And he’s proud of it.
A few weeks ago he said that he’s more than happy to dodge taxes, because he doesn’t want to throw his money down the drain. Yeah, Trump likes being a billionaire. But he doesn’t think the rules that apply to everyone else should apply to him.
But let’s be clear. Donald Trump didn’t get rich on his own. His businesses relied on roads and bridges that the rest of us paid for. His businesses relied on workers that the rest of us paid to educate, and on the police force and brave fire fighters the rest of us pay to support. Donald Trump and his businesses are defended by a world-class military that defends us abroad, keeps us safe and the rest of us pay to support.
When anyone builds something terrific, they should be able to keep a big hunk of it, but they should also pay a fair share forward so the next kid and the next kid and the next kid to come along will get their chance to build something too.
That’s how we build a future that works for everyone. And that goes double for Donald Trump, because we know how he got rich. He inherited a fortune from his father, and kept it going by scamming people, declaring bankruptcy and skipping out on what he got.
Nurses, teachers, dock workers—they pay their fare share for the services that keep Trump’s business’s going. Programmers, and engineers and small business owners—they pay their fair share to support courageous first responders. Donald Trump thinks that supporting them is throwing money down the drain. I say we just throw Donald Trump down the drain.
Donald Trump is a fraud, a cheapskate and a bully.
And look. He’s probably going to come up with a bunch of lame new nicknames for me just for filming this video. You know why he does that? He does that to intimidate, to threaten, to make us shut up. But you and I know how to beat him. We don’t back down.
So here’s what we need to do. Whatever Donald Trump says, whatever scam he tries to pull, whatever disgusting thing he thinks he can say because he’s “Donald Trump,” speak out. Talk to the person behind you in the grocery store, talk to the person pumping gas next to you. And yeah, share this video with your friends. Ask your Fox News-loving uncle, “Why do you pay your taxes, but Donald Trump doesn’t?”
If Donald Trump doesn’t even believe in paying his fair share for government, we shouldn’t put him in charge of the government.
If we’re going to build a future that’s not just for the rich and powerful, but a future that’s for everybody, then it’s time for all of us to fight back.”
Is Donald Trump a fraud, a cheapskate, and a bully? What do you think?
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Oh, for f***’s sake, this is one of the few places I come on the internet to avoid all the gibberish politics that brain dead people like Warren and Trump spout. Please, Clean Technica. I love how globally oriented, intellectual, and varied your articles usually are. Don’t get into the muck with the rest of the retards.
Elizabeth Warren is “brain dead”?!? What a special flower art thou.
Funny! I like a little judicious poetics as a contrast to the grade school f bomb type prose we so often encounter in this “age of obscenities”.
“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.”
I take it back. I’m sure she’s top of the class in your cohort!
She actually lives in my neighborhood. Around here, she’s known less for her ideas and more for the fights she seems to pick. I voted for her back when she stood for the senate, mostly due to the threat of having Scott Brown representing me. If any rational person challenged her in 2018, you can be certain that she’ll lose Cambridge faster than Bernie did.
I would like to respond to your comment, but I think we have had quite enough politics for the moment. ;>D
We can agree on that. More articles on the solar and electric revolution. Those are actually transforming the world. Less about political zero sum games!
It is relevant on the site. If he gets elected he apparently wants to try eliminate the EPA. That would be in start contrast to the aim of this site. Of course he will fail as spectacularly as his casinos did, but there are a ton of idiots out there yapping up his drivel thinking he is some sort of messiah.
Do yourself a favor and read through the last few articles on this site about the Indian solar industry or the Chinese auto industry. Notice how data driven, practical yet optimistic they come across. We Americans used to be known for that. I agree that Trump would be tragic, but the opposite of an idiot is not another idiot. The opposite of a loud mouth is not another loud mouth. The opposite of Trump is not Warren/Sanders. There are plenty of people on both sides of the political spectrum who did not fall into the angry nativism and pitchfork populism that reared its head on both sides of the political spectrum this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of people who have solar panels and drive EVs voted neither for Trump nor for Sanders in this past election.
Right, relevant to the site because Trump wants to bring back coal and will do what he can to slow down Solar PV, Wind, Storage, and EVs. Not ok.
Not much thinking involved at all from Trump. That’s a problem for more than renewables.
At a national level she’s a hero. One of the very few willing to stand against the rich.
Care to give a specific example of conflict in your neighborhood? Maybe it’s not her. Maybe it’s you.
That’s exactly my point – she is ALL rhetoric. One of her first actions in the senate was to lobby to exempt medical device companies from the regulations of Obamacare. Guess what, most medical device companies are headquartered just outside MIT in her backyard. I don’t have any issues with her lobbying for industry in her district – those companies pay the corporate taxes that support the schools in my district. I DO have issues with this aura of her fighting against the rich – that people nationally, and especially the Occupy crowd, has bought into. By most measures, she has benefited immensely from the kinds of loopholes that she accuses others of accessing, whether it be in real estate or in the way taxes are paid. She says the rich don’t pay enough in taxes. MA allows you to opt in to pay an additional 0.5% in state taxes. I opted in. She did not. She makes 10 times what I make in a year. What gives? She’s a phony who is adept at whipping up uninformed voters into a frenzy. Nothing more.
I agree that actions speak louder, but at least she spoke out. Not just rhetoric when most will not, when it’s politically risky to say what the real problem is. Speaking out is a first step in this case. Distractions, mis-information, and sound bites dominate. Trump is part and parcel with that.
I need more information on the medical device thing. I could be wrong.
The tax thing is non-sense. Change the laws so the rich pay their fair share, fewer loopholes for the very wealthy. That is the answer. Not paying yourself. Standing up for that IS an important first step. That’s why Bernie is popular as well.
Sorry to disappoint you but Bernie was not all that popular in any of the traditionally liberal towns of Massachusetts, either. He lost Boston. He lost Cambridge. In fact, he won only 2 towns in the greater Boston area. He was more popular out in rural and exurban areas. That’s not all that different from what happened in New York or California.
You’re cherry picking. Again, your assessment is distorted. Clearly, Bernie has done better than most people expected.
Bernie did far, far better than most people expected. But he didn’t win.
It’s now time to put the primary behind us and work to hang on to the White House and attempt to regain control of Congress.
Let’s hope that the enthusiasm of the younger people who formed Occupy, Black Lives, and backed Bernie stay involved. Had younger voters turned out for the 2010 election PBO might have been able to achieve some of their goals.
Putting Warren in the same class as Trump is ridiculous. Trump is spouting all kinds of nonsense about bringing back coal and about renewables being too expensive. A political hopeful spouting evil lies.
Even if Warren is not walking the walk (I question that still), at least she is talking sense.
Your position that they are the same is wrong right from the start. Clearly you have an ax to grind.
The art of politics involves figuring out what is achievable and achieving. It’s easy to dream huge dreams of what may be but it’s hard to make those dreams come true.
Amen. It is crazy to think that not voting because there are no perfect candidates is a good idea. It is crazy to vote for someone who has no chance of winning if you are in a swing state. Yes Floridians who voted for Nader in 2000 I’m looking at you. If you are in Utah or MA then by all means vote your ideal candidate.
And the art of government is making long-term strategically-sound decisions and moving public opinion to accomplish those goals.
If E Warren raises mandatory taxes on the rich, she’ll get clobbered by her own taxes. That works for me.
“That’s exactly my point – she is ALL rhetoric.”
Name any Senator elected in 2012 who can point to a record of accomplishment. I guess you missed the memo – the Republicans have blocked everything.
She was the creator of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – that’s not just rhetoric. The Republicans hated her so much for it they blocked her nomination to head the agency. That sounds distinctly the opposite of what they would expect of someone who was ALL rhetoric.
According to Quora, she ” she fights to reduce financial strain on middle class and poor families while pushing for the wealthy to pay more in taxes to properly fund government and the good work government can do”. Is that all rhetoric too?
She passed the Small Savings Act through the Senate, and its companion bill passed the House and became law. Not all rhetoric.
The Atlantic covers her influence here: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/is-elizabeth-warren-an-effective-senator/449349/
Are her constant and ,message- consistent orations, book authorship, television appearances, and bill sponsoring a canny conspiracy on her part?
Rhetoric? You seem to the one who spews it – against Warren.
Politics controls most everything, especially regarding our environment and clean energy. This is our last chance to get it right.
What does it cost to get a job that pays $3.6 million for 8 years if you last that long? $1.5 Billion for 4 years maybe $3.5 billion or more for 8 total years. Seems like there is a little more to it than the long hours? Don’t hold me to my math I could be wrong. I wonder if Monster Jobs – Job Search, Career Advice & Hiring Resources … makes that kind % of money for getting executives their job? So “Politics controls most everything” Humm
Agreed. The story is only fired with speculation designed to promote arguments and isn’t welcome on this information site, in my view. The river will flow where it wants to. The best we can do is work with it, not try to alter it.
Mother nature always wins.
This is truly offensive to me.
This is a 10-20 millionaire “calling out” a billionaire.
Hillary’s net worth is 100+ million.
The Barons won. Donald, Hillary, it doesn’t matter. The money won.
Citizen’s United rules supreme.
(By the way, Hillary is probably going to refuse to release hers as well, which is one of the most dangerous US precedents since slavery was legal.)
It does matter. Hillary will support the current incentives (ITC) for Wind and Solar PV. She will support current incentives for EVs. Trump supports coal and will do what he can to roll renewable incentives back. He’ll also abolish the EPA. Guess the idea there is we should have dirty air and water like China. Morons. Hey, it’s not like he’ll have to deal with it. Clean energy, clean air, and clean water will make the USA more competitive, not less. A lot of large companies are now pursuing their own renewable energy power. Lower cost!
Bernie would be better, but Hillary is the lesser evil.
Re “Hillary is probably going to refuse to release hers as well”. She’s already released her tax forms for the past 8 years.
Link: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/07/hillary-clinton-releases-eight-years-of-tax-returns-120882
I think it’s a lot more than the last 8 that have been released. Her campaign posted the eight most recent.
Yep, the article states that the Clintons have released returns all the way back to 1977.
Of course Hillary Clinton will release her tax returns, as she did in 2008. So will her VP pick. Why should they pass up the golden opportunity offered by Trump’s refusal to follow the longstanding convention? Warren has tried out the argument: is he cheapskate, a tax evader or broke?
Trump won more votes in the primaries than any other candidate in GOP history. It the rules committee changes the rules to stop him, there will be civil war in the GOP.
Either way, GOP loses.
Not only will this election decide our clean energy future, but whomever appoints the next 2-3 Supreme Court justices and it will affect everything. Because of a conservative majority, we now have Citizen’s United. President Bush didn’t win but was installed by the conservative Court. How’d that turn out?
Clinton winning can turn the Court around for at least a generation.
Unfortunately our Supreme Court has been politicized. Ideally decisions would be made based on the law but those days are behind us for now. If the Court was ever free of politics.
Grab this opportunity. Grab it or get screwed.
I agree that it is unfortunate, but rest assured, the court was always political (humanity has always been like that).
BernieOrBust dills need to read that. And I’m a fan of Bernie.
Well Shig, if Drumpf chooses the next 3 SCOTUS judges it will be worse than if Shillary chooses them. If you want to get money out of politics … wolf dash pac dot com
I would like to see an environmental rating of the famous trump properties, it could be fun.
On bloomberg, they have a report on the convicts and accused perps in trumps famous 40 wall street building, it makes for interesting reading, 40 wall is a beautiful building, but if you go inside, watch your wallet!
Isn’t that good advice for any of the buildings on Wall Street?
Read it. You have a point. She’s still waaayyyy better than the Donald. Guess she had to compromise to survive in our big business and money driven system.
Here is a good example of what E.W. is talking about. In Scotland Trump is claiming a loss and in the US his is claiming a gain. Pure Fraud
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-top-example-of-foreign-experience-a-scottish-golf-course-losing-millions/2016/06/22/12ae9cb0-1883-11e6-9e16-2e5a123aac62_story.html
While he may pay little PERSONAL income tax, I guarantee its more than made up of when his corporation (which he own’s) pays taxes. His company made close to 400 million in net income, so its easy to assume at a 34% tax rate it paid close to 100 million in taxes last year…So no hes not stiffing the government.
Without seeing the tax reports there is no way to tell what happened.