Joe V’s walkthrough of Rachel Maddow’s ‘colossal failure’ on live TV
It all started Tuesday evening with a Tweet heard 'round the world.
Oh, the anticipation! People have clamored for the release of Trump's tax returns since before the election was over. Most presidential nominees in recent history have released their tax returns, and the lame excuse Donald Trump's campaign gave for not releasing them, the fact that he was under audit, only increased speculation.
As we are collectively aware, Trump not releasing his tax returns had no negative impact on his campaign and he is now the leader of the Free World. Of course, that hasn't slowed down the demand to see his tax returns. So, let's see watcha got Rachel Maddow.
A half hour before showtime, Maddow expanded on the scoop she had.
Okay, well that's a long time ago. But maybe he's been up to some fishy business for a long time and he'll finally have to answer for his shady dealings! There's no way a responsible and prominent media figure would build up the hype like this if there was no actual story, right?
WRONG! After spending the first 20 minutes of her program explaining why it's so important for the American people to know what is inside President Trump's tax returns and laying out hypothetical scenarios that involve Russian money laundering and the possibilities of Donald Trump's foreign business ventures resulting in him being paid by foreign governments, she pulled up two sheets of paper. They were indeed his 2005 1040 form. Two sheets of paper that you can see in PDF form here showing he paid $38 million in taxes that year. A claim the White House quickly confirmed.
There were no further details - only assumptions. For an hour, Rachel Maddow and company speculated about the numbers inside this form. Something millions on both sides of the political aisle have done for months, only now there was an actual number to base it on... from 12 years ago.
*Slowclap* Good job, great effort, Rach. By the halfway point of Maddow's program, it seemed like an SNL parody. Whether you are a Rachel Maddow fan or detractor, there is no denying her journalistic integrity took a massive hit this week. Of course Donald Trump should release his tax returns. If he is indeed being paid by Russian business moguls or foreign nations, not only do we deserve to know, but Trump should be removed from office immediately if that is the case.
Unfortunately, what Rachel Maddow "exposed" last night offered nothing of substance to the conversation. Wait until you can verify the conspiracies you are broadcasting instead of stirring the "what if" pot. This comes off as a desperate attempt to grab ratings and headlines.
An absolute trainwreck. This is a prime example of why distrust in the media has spread like wildfire. You have to do better than that, plain and simple.
If you actually want to sit through this, you can check out clips from Rachel Maddow's big announcement by clicking here.
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