Lindsey Graham Says Yes, Donald Trump Should Release His Taxes Too, After Jaime Harrison Callout
Lindsey Graham made a show of demanding that Jaime Harrison release his tax documents. Harrison, Graham’s opponent in the election to represent South Carolina in the United States Senate, complied and said, “Now do Trump.” On Thursday, Graham admitted that the request should apply equally to Donald Trump.
“I’ve said that for a long time,” Graham told CNN on Thursday, agreeing that Donald Trump should release his tax records to the public. Graham says that all candidates should do so.
Earlier this week, Lindsey Graham tweeted a short clip of himself demanding that Jaime Harrison release his tax returns. “How did you make your money?” he questioned.
It’s now been 5 days, so I’ll ask again: Where are your tax returns, @HarrisonJaime? What are you hiding? https://t.co/AJypDZxtm1 pic.twitter.com/PQ3PLoNqhz
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 14, 2020
It’s true that Graham has previously said that Trump should release his tax returns. In 2017, BBC reported that Graham suggested the documents would clear up questions about Trump’s business deals with Russia, and last year, he said that everyone running for president should release their tax returns. According to CNBC, while Graham didn’t call out Trump specifically, several of the candidates running against him had already released their tax return documents publicly at that point, and a spokesperson confirmed that Graham did mean Trump, too.
It’s for this that Harrison called out Graham on Tuesday. Only a day after Graham challenged Harrison over his taxes, Harrison responded, saying, “Done. Now do Trump.”
Done. Now do President Trump. https://t.co/dphjGfMY6R
— Jaime Harrison (@harrisonjaime) September 15, 2020
Despite saying multiple times that he believed every candidate should release their financial information, and even calling for a law to enforce it, Graham has shied away from making the kind of personal challenge or demand towards Donald Trump that he directed at his own opponent.
Graham told CNN that he is not counting on the president showing up in South Carolina to campaign for him this year.