All during the campaign various groups and individuals were demanding the Donald Trump release his income tax returns. He was obviously never really enthusiastic about the idea (I think because his income was not going to be particularly large as billionaire incomes go and thus his focus on his net worth) but he has at various times said he will release them:

Trump: "I am under audit now and as soon as the audit ends I’ll release my returns." (ABC News, May 13, 2016) https://t.co/cCkAo7WMzq — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 22, 2017

Trump on releasing his tax returns: "before the election, I’ll release." (Fox News, May 11, 2016) — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 22, 2017

Trump "has always said that when the routine audit is complete he would release his tax returns." Hope Hicks,5/11/16 https://t.co/4Zae2Njftw — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 22, 2017

Trump on when he will release tax returns: "when audit is complete, not after election." (May 11, 2016) https://t.co/iMUi0Wqcjz — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) January 22, 2017

That was then. This is now.

Kellyanne Conway was on George Stephanopoulos’s This Week and the question came up:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Final question. You mentioned a couple hundred thousand people who sent in petitions on health care, talking about health care, you also have more than 200,000 who petitioned the White House calling on President Trump to release his full tax returns with all information needed to verify emolument’s clause compliance. Whenever 100,000 petition, that triggers a White House response. So, what is the White House response?

CONWAY: The White House response is that he’s not going to release his tax returns. We litigated this all through the election. People didn’t care. They voted for him. And let me make this very clear. Most Americans are very focused on what their tax returns will look like while President Trump is in office, not what his look like. And, you know full well that Trump — President Trump and his family are complying with all the ethical rules, everything they need to do to step away from his businesses and be a full-time president. But on this matter of tax returns, people keep a — they want to keep litigating what happened in the campaign. People want to know that they’re going to get tax relief and he has promised that.

This is not good. I don’t really care about Trump’s income taxes, or the income taxes of any other candidate. BUT. But Trump rather unambiguously promised to release his tax returns and he should live up to his word. If he won’t live up to his word on something this chickensh**, it doesn’t bode well for him living up to his word when, as will inevitably happen, he is pressed on some other distasteful decision he must make.