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Since before his upset ascent to the White House after the 2016 campaign, former President Donald Trump refused to comply with the long established expectation that presidential candidates release their tax returns.
Trump vowed to release them if he was elected, then said he couldn't because he was under audit. For years, Trump sued to block everyone from congressional investigators to district attorneys from seeing his financial records. The slivers that have become public knowledge reveal a failed businessman hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Trump has recently lost multi-year court battles attempting to shield these records.
Trump's shadiness around his financial records was one of the earliest red flags of his presidency.
After his inauguration, Trump appointed former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to serve as his United Nations Ambassador. Though she eventually left the administration, Haley—once considered a moderate, and who opposed Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries—has embraced his doctrine and the rightward swing it's imposed on the GOP. Only seldolmy has she gently rebuked him.
That's why recent comments made by Haley demanding a cognitive test for older elected officials raised eyebrows.
Watch below.
Nikki Haley proposes making any politician above a "certain age" in the House, Senate or White House pass \u201csome sort of cognitive test.\u201d\n\n"Like just like you have to show your tax returns."pic.twitter.com/maGkY2nNRg— The Recount (@The Recount) 1636120356
In a recent interview for the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Haley said:
"[W]e seriously need to have a conversation that if you're gonna have anyone above a certain age in a position of power — whether it's the House, whether it's the Senate, whether it's vice president, whether it's president — you should have some sort of cognitive test. Just like you have to show your tax returns, you should have some sort of health screening so that people have faith in what you're doing."
Haley's comments regarding tax returns prompted people to remind Haley about her former boss.
Um, who wants to tell her.pic.twitter.com/VyUdryZMPD— TheSheaKitten (@TheSheaKitten) 1636121739
We didn\u2019t see 45\u2019s tax returns but I do think campaigning and debating is a decent enough show of cognitive abilities\u2026— Andrew Conkling (@Andrew Conkling) 1636121866
Great idea, Nikki! Maybe we can start - oh, I don\u2019t know - before 2016!— Elliott \u201cThanksgiving Pun\u201d Christ (@Elliott \u201cThanksgiving Pun\u201d Christ) 1636121159
Except you DON\u2019T have to show your tax returns, as Trump proved for five years, and counting. @NikkiHaley is such a fraud. She just can\u2019t decide what she wants to be when she grows up.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1456620468195180549\u00a0\u2026— John Aravosis \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@John Aravosis \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1636121102
Some wondered if Haley was intending to tacitly call out Trump.
What I\u2019m hearing is: Nikki Haley calls on Donald Trump to release his tax returns and prove mental competency ahead of 2024.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1456620468195180549\u00a0\u2026— Sarah Longwell (@Sarah Longwell) 1636136442
Nikki Haley calls for Trump to release his tax returns and take a cognitive test.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1456620468195180549\u00a0\u2026— Robb Smith (@Robb Smith) 1636135042
At first I read this as just a clueless faux pas, but upon consideration I wonder if post election, the "Trumpism works better without Trump" take is going to start fueling some tentative coming at the king from potential rivals.https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1456620468195180549\u00a0\u2026— Schooley (@Schooley) 1636122010
nikki going hard against trump on both his cognitive skills and his tax returns just brutal stuffhttps://twitter.com/therecount/status/1456620468195180549\u00a0\u2026— darth\u2122 (@darth\u2122) 1636128769
Haley is considered a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.