Democratic strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said Wednesday that Sen. Bernie Sanders’s plan to release his tax returns is “four years too late” amid the ongoing push from the party to see President Trump’s own returns.
“I’m happy that he’s finally releasing his taxes,” Holdsworth, senior vice president of issues management at MWWPR Public Affairs, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”
“In my mind, it’s four years too late — I hate being a hypocrite, I hate defending hypocrites,” she continued. Hill.TV has reached to Sanders for comment.
During the 2016 Democratic primary, the Vermont senator only released his 2014 tax returns.
“In 2015, he stood up on stage against Hillary Clinton and told everybody he was going to release his taxes and then never did,” Holdsworth said. “Meanwhile, he was calling her out for things that were in her taxes — the reason why we knew that is because she released hers, so I think there was a lot of hypocrisy going on.”
The Democratic strategist predicted that this perceived hypocrisy could become an issue among voters as the 2020 race heats up.
“Voters aren’t maybe paying attention now, but I think ultimately in the Democratic primary while it’s incredibly friendly right now, it’s going to get more pointed around the debates,” she told Hill.TV.
Holdsworth’s comments come after Sanders announced in an interview with the New York Times that he will release 10 years of his tax returns by Monday. He added that he hopes Trump will follow suit amid renewed pressure from House Democrats.
“On the day in the very immediate future, certainly before April 15, we release ours, I hope that Donald Trump will do exactly the same,” he told the publication for a story published Tuesday.
Sanders said much of his recent rise in wealth has come from his most book, “Where We Go From Here.”
“I wrote a best-selling book,” Sanders told the Times. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”
Sanders would be among several Democratic contenders running for president to release their tax returns. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, have already released several years of their returns.
—Tess Bonn
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