Cohn: People ‘wasting time’ calling for Trump’s tax returns

President Trump’s top economic adviser maintained Thursday that people calling for the real estate mogul to release his personal income tax returns are “wasting time.”

“I can’t even understand my own taxes and what I pay, and my tax returns are, you know, 2 feet high up the table,” Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, said on Fox News’s “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

“How am I gonna understand his tax returns? You know, I think people are spending too much time wasting — wasting time on that issue,” added Cohn, who previously served as president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs.

{mosads}Instead, Cohn said people should “waste time” creating jobs and bolstering the U.S. economy.

“Let’s waste time on creating jobs in America and growing our economy, and making sure that every American has the opportunity to get a better job,” Cohn said. “Remember, if we lower the tax rates for the middle class, they end up with more disposable income.”

Trump broke from decades of tradition on the campaign trail by refusing to release his personal income tax returns. He argued at the time that he could not make the documents public because he was under audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), but the IRS said Trump was free to release the returns and defend their accuracy himself. 

Since taking office in January, the president has continued to resist calls by lawmakers and ethics watchdogs to release his tax returns. The issue has continued to hold attention, with thousands of people marching earlier this month in cities calling for Trump to release his returns. 

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted at a news conference on Wednesday that “the American population has plenty of information” regarding Trump’s finances.