Over the last week, President Donald Trump has limited his use of social media. On Wednesday morning, the president decided to return to his Twitter feed after Rachel Maddow took aim at his old tax returns.
Trump on Twitter
Ever since he announced his campaign president, Donald Trump has made sure to use social media as his number one form of communication. As time has moved on and his relationship with the mainstream media has become strained, the former host of "The Apprentice" has increased his time on Twitter, making sure to bypass the press in the process.
After making baseless allegations against former President Barack Obama in regards to the infamous wiretapping conspiracy last weekend, Trump has become somewhat timid with his time on social media. However, after Rachel Maddow of MSNBC broke a major story about the president's financial history, Trump lashed out on his Twitter account on March 15 and didn't hold back his thoughts.
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
On Tuesday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow released a portion of Donald Trump's 2005 tax returns, which she received after author and journalist David Cay Johnston claimed to have obtained the information after someone allegedly mailed them to his house.
Johnston is no stranger to the president, and is the author of the book "The Making of Donald Trump." In response, the billionaire real estate mogul responded to the news during an early morning tweet. "Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, 'went to his mailbox' and found my tax returns?" Trump wrote on Twitter, before adding, "@NBCNews Fake News!"
Rachel Maddow: "The first amendment gives us the right to publish this return." pic.twitter.com/Jgbu1GRSIk
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 15, 2017
Rapid reaction
The tax returns stem from Donald Trump's 2005 1040 from, where it was revealed that the president paid $38 million in taxes on an estimated income of $150 million.
Over $33 million of the taxes paid were due to the alternative minimum tax, which the president has pushed to be eliminated, and would have reduced his liability to around $4 million.
Thank you Rachel Maddow for proving to your #Trump hating followers how successful @realDonaldTrump is & that he paid $40mm in taxes! #Taxes
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 15, 2017
I have to thank @NBCNews I have not laughed this hard in a decade. You could not write a better skit than this. https://t.co/VwRyqwXEgH
— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) March 15, 2017
In reaction to the report by Rachel Maddow, supporters of Donald Trump were not impressed.
Donald Trump Jr., Fox News host Sean Hannity, and others laughed at the MSNBC segment which they argued only made the commander in chief look better for showing how much he actually ended up paying in taxes. Even many who oppose the president, like actor and director Rob Reiner, were disappointed with Maddow's report as they thought it took attention away from more important issues.
