74% Think Trump Should Release Taxes. This Story Doesn't Help Trump. At All

[KittyWampus]

When was the last time three quarters of Americans agreed on anything?

It's tax season. And if Trump can release a short form from over 10 years ago, he can release all of them.

Almost three-quarters of Americans think President-elect Donald Trump
should release his tax returns, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Seventy-four percent say Trump should release his tax returns, which the president-elect refused to do during his campaign. At his first post-election press conference last week, Trump argued that no one but members of the media care about his tax returns, reiterating that he won't release them while he's under federal audit. The IRS has said an audit does not prevents someone from releasing personal tax information.

[scheming daemons]

1. Most of that 74% will consider this 2005 release to be "he released his taxes"

And they'll go back to being sheep.


This was a major WIN for Trump tonight.

[KittyWampus]

2. No they won't. You are wrong. And it's sad you're so invested in seeing this

as a positive for Trump when it clearly isn't.

[scheming daemons]

3. Charles Blow says this is a win for Trump. CNBC (MSNBC sister station) says this is a win for Trump

Every serious liberal pundit is calling this a win for Trump.


It is what it is.


I'm "invested" in removing this fraud from office... and letting him get a victory, especially at the hands of one of our most important voices.... was a blow.


In soccer terms... this was an "own goal".


Rachel walked into a trap. And gladly did so.

[EffieBlack]

4. He probably leaked this himself.

[scheming daemons]

5. No "probably" about it. And Rachel should've been smart enough to smell the rat.

[KittyWampus]

6. Both she and DKJ acknowledged it might have come from him as he's done this

in the past. In fact they started by talking about Rex Tillerson and Trump both using fake names to contact press.

[scheming daemons]

7. Which is why she shouldn't have hyped it up as being much more than it was beforehand

The "story" should have been:

"Hi. I'm Rachel Maddow. And tonight, Donald Trump tried to use me as a distraction by sending us two worthless pages of his 2005 tax return. Hoping to get a night off from us exposing his Russia ties, no doubt. But we aren't falling for it. Now back to the real news...."

[KittyWampus]

9. LOLZ. The lead in had Rex Tillerson and Trump using fake names to contact press.

[EffieBlack]

11. No matter where it came from, it's news

She's not a political operative. She's a journalist. She reported on information she received. She acknowledged that the source could be questionable but verified the document's authenticity. Was she supposed to not disclose this information because it could be spun in Trump's favor? That's what fake journalist ala Fox would do. Real journalists report.

She's doing her job.

[scheming daemons]

13. She shouldn't have hyped it as being more than it was prior to the show.

And she shouldn't have spent more than 10-15 minutes on it.... not her whole hour.

[Catherine Vincent]

10. Wouldn't she and her producers know this could be a trap?

[scheming daemons]

12. One would hope...

[sharedvalues]

14. Eh, use your own head

Rachel got tax discussion back into the news bigly.
That's a win for patriotic Americans and a loss for Trump. This healthcare thing is going to be a mess whether or not tomorrow's news is all about taxes.

Be patient.

[EL34x4]

15. Seriously, what do people expect to find on his tax returns?

Tax deductions for Russian hackers? Vladimir Putin on his payroll?

All this hoopla over Trump's tax returns and when he finally releases them, there isn't going to be anything there.

[Quixote1818]

16. I agree. They should have sat on it.

Now they can say "Oh my gosh! My taxes were leaked and the evil Rachel Maddow back stabbed me and put them all out there." Huge win for Trump.

[sharedvalues]

17. Heer Jeet explains why this is a loss for Trump

Buck up, stay positive

Link to tweet

[oasis]

8. Congress can pry them out of his cold tiny hands with a subpoena. nt

[scheming daemons]

18. Michael Moore disagrees with you

Link to tweet

[KittyWampus]

19. Still relevant.