President-elect Donald Trump: Only reporters care about my tax returns

President-elect Donald Trump refused to release his tax returns yet again on Wednesday during a tense exchange with a reporter during his first press conference in nearly six months.

The billionaire businessman was asked by Hallie Jackson of NBC News if he would release his tax returns in order to prove that he has no business dealings or loans from Russia, and he claimed in a tweet sent earlier on Wednesday.

Trump staunchly refused and suggested only the press is interested in the issue.

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"The only one that cares about my tax returns are the reporters," Trump responded at the press conference in New York, suggesting he has no intentions to release his returns.

When asked whether he thought Americans cared about his returns, Trump said, "I don't think they care at all. I think you care."

He added that his taxes are "under audit" and insisted that the public would "learn very little" from any information that could be learned from his personal returns. He suggested that far more could be gleaned from his decision to hand his company over to his two oldest sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The president-elect's returns first came into the spotlight during the general election after his opponent Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton release her tax returns in August.

According to a Pew survey released earlier this month, 60 percent of respondents think Trump has a responsibility to release his tax returns, while 33 percent said he doesn't.