Biden campaign spotlights Trump taxes story with new digital video

Trump calls New York Times report that said he avoided paying federal income taxes 'totally made up'

It didn’t take long for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign to quickly spotlight a viral report from the New York Times on President Trump’s taxes.

The report – which Trump labeled “fake news” – says President Trump didn’t pay federal income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years.

TRUMP CALLS STORY THAT HE AVOIDED PAYING TAXES 'FAKE NEWS'

Soon after the release of the report, Biden’s campaign posted a video on Twitter that compares how much in taxes Americans such as teachers, firefighters and nurses typically pay compared to the president.

“Teachers paid $7,239. Firefighters paid $5,283. Nurses paid $10,216. Donald Trump paid $750,” the Biden campaign spotlighted in a tweet that showcased the 30-second spot.

As of Monday morning at 9 a.m. ET, the video had more than 2.2 million views on Twitter. There’s no word from the vice president’s campaign if they plan to put money behind the spot to run on digital or TV.

“It's fake news, it’s totally made up,” Trump said Sunday during a press briefing less than an hour after the story broke in the newspaper. “Everything was wrong, they are so bad.”

According to the New York Times report, Trump, who has fiercely guarded his tax filings and is the only president in modern times not to make them public, paid $750 in taxes to the federal government the year he was elected and $750 again his first year in office.

THE TOPICS BIDEN AND TRUMP WILL BATTLE OVER AT TUESDAY NIGHT'S DEBATE

The disclosure, which the Times said comes from tax return data extending over two decades, comes at a pivotal moment ahead of the first presidential debate Tuesday and amid a combustible and divisive election.

Trump, whose net worth is claimed to be in the billions, denied that he paid such a small amount in taxes.

“I’ve paid a lot and I’ve paid a lot of state income taxes too,” he said.

A lawyer for the Trump Organization, Alan Garten, also denied to the New York Times that the president paid such a small amount of taxes – saying in a statement obtained by Fox News that Trump "has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government, including paying millions in personal taxes since announcing his candidacy in 2015.”

“The New York Times’ story is riddled with gross inaccuracies. Over the past decade the President has paid tens of millions of dollars in personal taxes to the federal government," Garten said. "While we tried to explain this to the Times, they refused to listen and rejected our repeated request that they show us any of the documentation they purport to be relying on to substantiate their claims."

He added: "Obviously this is just part of the Times’ ongoing smear campaign in the run up to the election.”

Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Load more..