In a tour de force of hard won reporting, the New York Times has put numerical clothing on what we’ve known about President Trump for years:

He’s a haphazard businessman, human billboard and serial bankruptcy artist https://trib.al/hggQz0K 

But @TimOBrien wants us to focus on what the tax returns reveal about Trump as president. Because of his:

Indebtedness
Reliance on overseas income
Refusal to distance himself from his business

Trump represents a profound national security threat http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

According to the Times, Trump has about $421 million in debts which he has personally guaranteed and which are coming due over the next several years.

But @TimOBrien believes Trump’s overall indebtedness is greater than that http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

Trump has worked hard to keep his debts hidden for decades.

@DanAlexander21 has a book out about the president’s financial conflicts of interest, “White House Inc.” He estimates Trump’s total indebtedness to be about $1.1 billion http://trib.al/hggQz0K  https://twitter.com/DanAlexander21/status/1310364815710453760

Trump has been bloviating about being worth $10 billion ever since he entered the 2016 presidential race, a figure that simply isn’t true.

He’s worth a fraction of that amount, and the larger his indebtedness becomes, the more strain it puts on his assets http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

Covid-19 has taken a brutal toll on the sectors which Trump’s businesses are in:

Real estate
Travel
Leisure

If he can’t meet debt payments, he’ll have to sell assets or get bailed out by a friend with funds – and he’s never liked to sell anything http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

If Trump was still just a reality TV oddity, that wouldn’t be earthshaking.

But he’s president, and the trade-offs someone like him would be willing to make to save his face and his wallet taint every public policy decision he makes http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

Trump’s history of avoiding tax payments – often paying nothing – should also alarm his supporters.

Trump’s tax cut largely benefitted the most affluent Americans and the largest corporations. Now we learn that he has rarely paid taxes in recent years http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

Trump paid $750 in taxes the year he was elected. That’s way less than the:

$130,000 in hush money he paid Stormy Daniels
$161,950 in taxes that he criticized Obama for “only” paying http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

When comparing Trump’s tax payments to an American household earning about $75,000 in 2016, the difference is even more stark:

Those folks paid about $14,000 in federal income taxes — a lot more than $750 http://trib.al/hggQz0K 

Anyone buying Trump’s tripe about looking out for the little guy while he occupies the White House should bear this in mind:

POTUS is in it only for himself, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. And he’s laughing at you, too http://trib.al/hggQz0K