‘So, That’s a Pickle’: Fox News’ Chris Stirewalt Calls Out Trump’s Conflicting ‘Fake News’ and ‘Illegally Obtained’ Claims to Rebut NYT’s Tax Story

President Donald Trump has trotted out two contradictory defenses to rebut the New York Times’ bombshell report about 20 years of his tax returns, Fox News political editor Chris Stirewalt pointed out.

Appearing on Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday evening, Stirewalt noted during a panel discussion that the president’s initial rebuttal to the story on Sunday night, that it was “totally fake news,” was seemingly undone by Trump himself a day later, when he complained on Twitter that his taxes were “illegally obtained.”

The Fake News Media, just like Election time 2016, is bringing up my Taxes & all sorts of other nonsense with illegally obtained information & only bad intent. I paid many millions of dollars in taxes but was entitled, like everyone else, to depreciation & tax credits…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 28, 2020

“Chris, it’s going to come up at the debate tomorrow night,” host Bret Baier said of the blockbuster Times story that Trump paid no taxes for 10 years prior to becoming president and only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017. “Your thoughts on the story and how it plays?”

“The Times says the $100 million is on the line for Trump. It could be a bank breaker for him according to the story,” Stirewalt pointed out. “He’s in a difficult position because on the one hand he says ‘totally fake news’ but also then he has to say it was ‘illegally gotten’ and it can’t be both illegally gotten and fake I don’t think. So, that’s a pickle.”

Stirewalt also noted that the Joe Biden campaign has already begun churning out attack ads hitting Trump on the $750 figure. But Stirewalt was skeptical that the tax revelations would seriously upend the 2020 election.

“I’ve got to tell you, I cannot imagine that there are very many voters who would see this or understand this or see reporting about it and have their minds changed,” Stirewalt said. “Four years ago Donald Trump was an unknown commodity in a lot of way. He is a known commodity in every way now and I just see this as moving a lot of votes. ”

Watch the video above, via Fox News.