Ross: That time when President Trump set a good example

I hear it said all the time that President Trump sets a terrible example. But I’ll bet even his critics would appreciate the example he set in 2017.

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This actually came out a few months ago, but I was reminded about it by Tuesday’s New York Times story displaying the monthly checks Mr. Trump was writing to his former attorney Michael Cohen.

We now know he was reimbursing Cohen for the payoff to Stormy Daniels — $130,000 to keep her quiet. It’s not one of Trump’s better deals.

But it turns out there were 11 checks – 10 for $35,000, and one for $70,000. That totals $420,000. Way more than Mr. Cohen paid out.

Part of it was for rigging online polls on CNBC and the Drudge Report, part of it was a bonus, but the biggest chunk – $180,000 of the payoff – was to reimburse Cohen for the income tax Cohen would have to pay on the payoff.

And I have to say, whatever you think about the president, that is a very thoughtful thing to do. I’m a little surprised he’s been trying to run away from it.

Why not embrace it? Here we are in tax time – why not encourage companies to follow his example, and use that big corporate tax break to pay their employees tax bills!

It’s also quaint that Trump thought Cohen was actually reporting his income.

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