On March 15, Many Twitter users described MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s report on Donald Trump‘s 2005 tax return as “NothingBurger”. In a Tuesday night segment she hyped up on Twitter, Maddow revealed the contents of two pages from Trump’s tax return for 2005. The return showed that Trump paid 24 per cent in tax on income of $150 million for the 2005 tax year.
According to David Cay Johnston, the investigative journalist who obtained the return to start with, that’s about the same amount that a married couple with two incomes totalling around $400,000 might have paid.
Reactions varied on social media — but many expressed disappointment with a segment.
@DonaldJTrumpJr: “Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes! #Taxes”
@Pamela_Moore13: “Rachel Maddow is the personification of the entire democratic party today...
They committed suicide live on national TV. #TrumpTaxReturn”
@pfran09: “This is also a distraction from Russia ties. Media needs to stay focused! #TrumpTaxReturn @ChrisCuomo @ananavarro” @luxint: “@realDonaldTrump Why are you scared? First pres since nixon: no tax publishing! Bad! Dodgy?! Crooked!? #TrumpTaxReturn #TrumpRussiaCollusion” @Slimelord_KRS: “When you selectively send the media your own tax returns and they hype the exact info you want - #TrumpTaxReturn”
@NinaSawetz: “Some experts are indicating Trump himself leaked the #TrumpTaxReturn to steer attention away from Russia, Health and Immigration debates.” @lawwwdyclawdy: “If trump did leak that, I’m wondering if he had to go all the way back to 2005 to find 2 pages that seemed legit. #TrumpTaxReturn” @Zozohra1975: “2005 #TrumpTaxReturn why not more recent news from tax returns?” @sandraclunie: “So, we get TWO PAGES of #TrumpTaxReturn from 2005 that Trump probably leaked himself to distract from treason & his sheeple get all excited!”
@nia4_trump: “#TrumpTaxReturn shows he paid $38M on $150M. #TrumpsTaxes on Rachael Maddox were stamped “Client Copy” ߑ? Libs nationwide have lost all hope.”
Cecil Choate: “The Wall Street Journal reported on the 2005 #TrumpTaxReturns a year ago! Haha. Rachel Maddow’s exclusive is only a year late.”
@mmpadellan: “Trump spent a LOT of time hollering about Obama’s “long-form” Birth Certificate. Where is the FULL #TrumpTaxReturn? #TrumpTaxes”
Loraine Squared: “While everyone is looking at #TrumpTaxReturns no one is paying attention to his 400% increase in drone strikes. ‘During President Obama’s two terms in office, he approved 542 such targeted strikes in 2,920 days - one every 5.4 days,’ Zenko wrote on the Council of Foreign Relations’ website. ‘From his inauguration through [Mar. 6], President Trump has approved at least 36 drone strikes or raids in 45 days - one every 1.25 days’.”
Mike Anderson: “I’m torn. Like any good snowflake I love Rachel Maddow like I love fancy coffee and ethnically diverse movies. On the other hand, it feels like she told us there was cake in the break room and it turned out to a be a paleo ‘cake’ of black beans and avocado. If Trump’s 2005 tax return magically ‘just happened’ to surface and isn’t that shady, that clearly means all his other 40-50 years of tax returns aren’t criminal either, which I’m sure is why he’ll be releasing them all ASAP. He obviously has nothing to hide, despite spending the last year hiding them. And remember: If it was true in 2005, it’s still true. That’s why The Killers’ Mr. Brightside is the number one song in America, Everybody Hates Chris is still on the air, and Bill Cosby is a beloved American father figure. #2005 #trumptaxreturns”
