Democrats unimpressed by Rachel Maddow's Trump tax return scoop

Impact
ByEmily C. Singer

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow released two pages of President Donald Trump's 2005 federal tax returns on Tuesday.

While Democrats have beaten their chest for months about the need to see Trump's taxes, they were unimpressed by what the returns showed: Trump did indeed pay $38 million in taxes on $150 million in income.

Brian Fallon, a former top spokesman for Hillary Clinton's campaign, tweeted that Democrats should "not get distracted" by the 2005 tax return.

"Dems should return focus to Trumpcare tomorrow & the millions it will leave uninsured," Fallon tweeted.

Former Rep. John Dingell, the legendary retired Michigan Democrat who holds the record as the longest-serving member of Congress, echoed similar sentiments. 

"Most interesting # in Trump's taxes: 24,000,000," Dingell tweeted, referencing the 24 million people the Congressional Budget Office says will lose health insurance under Trump's health care plan.

"Trump's taxes are important, but I'm waiting on the long form," Dingell added, a nod to Trump's baseless attack on former President Barack Obama's citizenship, which caused Obama to release his long-form birth certificate.

Some Democrats suggested the most newsworthy thing to come from the leaked tax return was the fact that Trump can, indeed, release his tax documents — something he's so far refused to do. (The White House confirmed the numbers in the 2005 tax return reported on MSNBC.)

"The only news out of this is that the White House CAN release the President's taxes, despite what campaign said," former Democratic operative Mo Elleithee tweeted. "Which we all suspected."

Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., taunted Democrats on the release of Trump's tax return.

"Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes!" Trump Jr. tweeted.

Trump Jr.'s tweet — which amounted to a victory lap — led some to speculate that Trump himself leaked the returns.

"Oh, look, Hannity's already out there stoking the 'the media is the opposition' fires on Fox," Liz Mair, an anti-Trump GOP operative tweeted about Sean Hannity, the Fox News host who has served as a mouthpiece for the Trump administration, even appearing in a campaign ad supporting Trump.

"Total. Setup," Mair added.