Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton engaged in sharp attacks in the first debate of the 2016 election, with the Republican property developer painting his rival as a “typical politician” and the Democratic former secretary of state portraying her opponent as unprepared for the “awesome, immense responsibility” of the presidency.
Mrs Clinton castigated Mr Trump for not releasing his tax returns, which every presidential candidate has done since Richard Nixon. She questioned his reasons for not releasing them, speculating that he may have exaggerated his wealth, that he may not have been as charitable as he claims or that he may be trying to disguise how much tax he pays.
“Maybe he does not want the American people to know that he has paid nothing in federal taxes,” Mrs Clinton said. When she pointed out that the only tax returns that Mr Trump has made public showed that he had not paid any federal taxes, he responded: “That makes me smart.”