Tornado Alley (PROG)

[JimLur]

It Appears Trump Just Masterfully Played Rachel Maddow on Her 'Dramatic' Tax Return Report

http://ijr.com/2017/03/825149-president-trump-may-just-masterfully-played-rachel-maddow-dramatic-tax-return-report/

BY KYLE BECKER

Liberal MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, best friend the Trump administration could hope for?

After weeks of non-stop Trump-bashing headlines and general media caterwauling about attempts to reform Obamacare, a glimmering break in the clouds shone down in the form of a dramatic report that Rachel Maddow has now become the face of: Trump's tax returns.

It was built up with all the fanfare of Geraldo dragging captive viewers into Al Capone's vault: the MSNBC host, who has been on somewhat of a Trump conspiracy theory tear of late, left audiences salivating for the 'smoking gun.'

Was Trump in cahoots with Russian mobsters? Was he an uncharitable lout? Did his corporation shirk paying its 'fair share' in taxes? The nation was fixated and people were on the edge of their seats.

And then ... dud. Well, it was actually more than a dud — you see, Maddow, with all her flare and pomp, just debunked a longtime liberal charge: that Trump did not pay any federal income taxes, and that's why he has been hiding his returns.

Now, Trump is not out-of-the-clear, at least as far as the tax returns go. It was only one tax return — a 1040 from 2015 — and it showed he paid $38 million on $150 million in income. Some fairly point out that his current tax proposal would kill the Alternative Minimum Tax, thus wiping out much of this kind of tax liability.

But that's not the most interesting part: Rachel Maddow's stunt wiped numerous negative headlines off the front pages of newspapers and took over leads of news networks. This provides Trump with the ability to take command of the headlines, pivot to what he wants to talk about, or even to go on offense against the 'mainstream media.'

In fact, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who obtained the tax return — as opposed to Maddow, who talked about the return on her show — raised the possibility that President Trump had sent the return himself.

“By the way, let me point out it’s entirely possible that Donald sent this to me,” said journalist David Cay Johnston. ”Donald Trump has over the years leaked all sorts of things,” he added. “Donald has a long history of leaking material about himself when he thinks it’s in his interest.”

And wouldn't that just beat all? Liberal nemesis Rachel Maddow, believing she's damaging the president with a “big scoop,” unwittingly a pawn in his game to deflect legitimate news attention and to pivot to more important matters on the White House agenda?

It's definitely worth considering. The thought is too ironic, and potentially illustrative, to ignore.