Donald Trump isn't the only one who thinks he is "smart" for avoiding to pay taxes. Only hours after the New York Times published Donald Trump's 1995 income tax records, revealing the presidential candidate eluded paying taxes for nearly 20 years, Rudy Giuliani proclaimed Trump as an "absolute genius."
The former New York City mayor stopped by ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos to give his props to Trump for "taking advantage" of the tax laws. "He would have been a fool not to take advantage of it," Giuliani said, stressing that Trump's actions were completely legal. "You have an obligation when you run a business to maximize the profits."
Giuliani also suggested that the government is at fault for him failing to pay federal income taxes. "The law is responsible for it," he added. "If you have a set of laws, you live by those laws. And the reality is, you are ignoring completely the fiduciary obligation he has to all the people around him to run his business at the lowest possible expense."
On Saturday night the New York Times shared the Republican nominee's records, revealing Trump had collected a nearly billion-dollar loss from his casinos venture, which allowed him to avoid paying taxes over an 18-year period. Although Hillary Clinton criticized her opponent for failing to pay up during the first presidential debate, the story is actually proving to be a good talking point for the Trump campaign, according to Chris Christie. "This is actually a very, very good story for Donald Trump," Christie said on Fox News Sunday. "What it shows is what an absolute mess the federal tax code is and that’s why Donald Trump is the best person to fix it. There is no one who has shown more genius in their way to maneuver around the tax code."
Trump also responded to the Times story, saying he knew exactly how to fix the tax laws if elected president. "I know our complex tax laws better than anyone who has ever run for president and am the only one who can fix them," he tweeted.
And piggy-backing off of Christie and Trump, Giuliani claims Trump's mindset is just the thing this country needs. "[Trump] went down and went all the way back up. America needs a turnaround artist," he said.
