Trump earned $150-million, paid $38-million in taxes in 2005

She spent the first 20 minutes working through the context surrounding Trump’s tax returns. “(Seriously)”, advertising her program. Maddow made the documents seem much more interesting and important than they actually were. When she finally did, we learned that Donald Trump paid about $38 million in taxes on income of almost $150 million.

“This is the highest-rated program ever for “The Rachel Maddow Show” in both total viewer and [between the ages of 24 and 54] demos”, an MSNBC spokesman told Poynter. “This is getting played”. Less than an hour, she clarified in another message that she only had part of the president’s returns from 2005. The obvious manner in which she portrayed this story was to create a certain desired effect, but the exact opposite effect occurred.

The ratings showed the power of social media.

Mocking the president’s numerous executive orders on Stephen Colbert’s CBS show, Jon Stewart wore a tie so long it dragged on the floor and announced, “The new official language of the United States is ‘bull….” But the story didn’t really interest her.

“It wasn’t decades of tax returns, which I think is what is implied when someone says tax returns, plural”, Sutton said.

On “The Late Show”, Stephen Colbert, outfitted in a Maddow-esque getup, approached his bit by claiming that he had obtained a joke heard by Donald Trump – “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

Of course not. Because, you see, dear reader, it was not Maddow who was to blame for the episode.

It doesn’t matter if you want the release of Trump’s tax returns to be the most condemning spectacle since Watergate or you hope they prove he’s an honest businessman.

“This is a super interesting first window into his finances, and the question of his finances is a legitimate scandal”, she said.

“No one’s been this disappointed by Rachel Maddow since the guy who took her to the prom”, he said.

Trump also said during the interview the leakers “don’t respect the law” and that “it’s bad what’s going on in Washington”.

“Liberals have to be so careful these days”.

Hannity, on his show, called Maddow’s story “a flat-out, pathetic conspiratorial attempt to smear the president”.

Asked by Watters if he believed Obama was trying to sabotage his presidency, Trump said: ‘He’s been very nice to me personally but his people haven’t been nice’. There is also the 1971 Pentagon Papers case in which the Supreme Court ruled in favor of The New York Times after they published highly classified reports that contradicted the Pentagon narrative about the Vietnam War.