In what was built up as a major scoop, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow revealed a two-page 1040 federal tax form of President Donald Trump’s 2005 filing, but many were unimpressed with the report.
“It takes less time to fill out your taxes than for Rachael Maddow to get to what’s in Trump’s taxes,” read one Tweet, and there many more critical of the reporting. Of course, much of the reaction to Maddow’s report that Trump paid more than $38 million in taxes in 2005 was panned by many, especially conservative media outlets.
“Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes!,” Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted.
Even before the report, the White House released the 2005 taxes and confirmed their accuracy, but blasted the release via MSNBC. One nugget from the report was that Trump had a write down valued at $100 million in business loans, but the White House did not provide further details about the nature of the losses.
“Before being elected president, Mr. Trump was one of the most successful businessmen in the world, with a responsibility to his company, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required,” the White House said in a statement.
