On Tuesday night, Rachel Maddow obtained and released two pages of 2005 tax returns belonging to President Donald Trump. While the president released a statement and a tweet on the issue, he broke his silence during an interview on Fox News.
Trump on Fox News
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has made it no secret that she's not a fan of Donald Trump, and has been digging for dirt on the president since the early days of his campaign. Following Trump's election win last November, Maddow and others have investigated what could be hidden in the president's financial history, with speculation increasing due to the fact that his tax returns remain hidden.
When Maddow finally released the tax returns in question, backlash followed from the White House and the right-wing media. On March 15, Trump sat down with Fox News to elaborate further.
WATCH: @TuckerCarlson asks President #Trump about his released tax returns. Don't miss the full interview on #Tucker Carlson Tonight, 9p ET. pic.twitter.com/ReNUqT3TSF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 15, 2017
Joining Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday night was Donald Trump who didn't hold back his feelings about the release of his tax returns. "I have no idea where they got it, but it is illegal and you’re not supposed to have it," Trump told Carlson. "It's not supposed to be leaked and it's certainty not an embarrassing tax return at all," the president said.
Trump blasts tax return leak: 'It's a disgrace' https://t.co/dOhmqdQo7d
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) March 15, 2017
Not stopping there, Donald Trump continued to push back at the release of his private financial history. "It is an illegal thing," he said, while noting, "They’ve (media) been doing it. They’ve done it before.
I think it is a disgrace." Earlier in the day, Trump sent out a tweet questioning David Cay Johnston, the author and journalist who said he first obtained the tax returns after finding them in his mailbox. "Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, 'went to his mailbox' and found my tax returns?" Trump rhetorically asked, before labeling the story "fake news."
Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, "went to his mailbox" and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 15, 2017
Return details
The main detail of the tax return, which comes in the form of a two-page 1040 form from 2005, is that Donald Trump earned $150 million, and paid #38 million in taxes, which amounts to around a 25 percent tax rate.
However, one takeaway that critics of the president point to is that the majority of the taxes Trump paid that year come in the form of the alternative minimum tax, which the billionaire real estate mogul has proposed to eliminate.
