Donald Trump countered Hillary Clinton’s attack that he does not pay federal income taxes with four words during the first presidential debate on Monday.
"That makes me smart," Trump said as Clinton tried to hit him on not releasing his tax returns.
"Or maybe he doesn’t want the American people, all of you watching tonight, to know that he’s paid nothing in federal taxes because the only years that anybody has ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn’t pay any federal income tax so–" Clinton said.
Trump then jumped in to say this move made him smart.
Clinton had listed other reasons why Trump might not have released his tax returns, including that he does not make as much money as he publicly claims.
Trump has maintained that due to his ongoing "routine" audit and his attorneys’ wishes, he will not release his tax returns to the public until after the audit is over.
Releasing tax returns has been a tradition among presidential candidates since Richard Nixon did so over four decades ago.
Clinton released her tax returns as far back as 2007, as did her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D., Va.).
Trump would be the first presidential candidate since 1976 to not release his tax returns to the public.
His running mate, Gov. Mike Pence, has released his tax returns, however.