Trump’s criticism of protests for him to release his tax returns is a smokescreen to avoid exposing his possibly unethical business practices, speculates the Ashbury Park Press editorial board. The president is sidestepping the real issue by claiming that his taxes were only relevant during the campaign and that Americans don't care about them anymore, asserts the editorial board. They contradict him, pointing to the recent protests and the fact that his taxes might reveal conflicts of interest. Americans need to know whether that is the case, particularly because Trump has been so evasive and defensive about his taxes, infers the editorial board.

Trump’s tax returns are no one’s business but his own, and whoever shares them is breaking the law, argues Hans A. von Spakovsky of Fox News. He challenges that news outlets have been able to publish pages of Trump’s 2005 tax returns without punishment, pointing out that this is illegal under American law. Von Spakovsky theorizes that the entire American tax system would be upended if citizens did not have the guarantee that their personal financial information remains private. In his view, it is entirely in Trump’s right to keep his tax returns private and anyone who leaks or publishes them should be punished according to the law.