Donald Trump Jr. on Friday shared a post on social media that contained a joke about paying taxes hours after the Trump Organization was ordered to pay $1.6 million in fines for its conviction on felony tax fraud and other charges.
Trump Jr., the eldest son of former President Donald Trump and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted an image on Instagram that read: “Don’t forget to pay your taxes. Other countries are depending on it.”
Last month, a New York jury found the Trump Corporation and the Trump Payroll Corporation—two subsidiaries of the Trump Organization—guilty on 17 criminal counts. A state Supreme Court judge on Friday in Manhattan handed down the maximum possible punishment with a $810,000 fine on the Trump Corporation and a $800,000 fine on Trump Payroll.
Neither the former president nor his family were charged in connection to the investigation into the Trump Organization. Trump has also denied any knowledge of executives in his company evading taxes illegally.
Trump Jr.’s Instagram post was met with many positive messages in the comments section, though there were some who indicated they did not support his remarks.
“Ironic message coming from a Trump ~ I paid over $100k in Fed taxes the same year ya daddy paid 0 ~ you ain’t got no room to whine about where taxes are going because you don’t pay any junior,” wrote one person.
Another person referenced the $1.6 million criminal penalty.