Trump's Ever-Elusive Tax Return

Is it really a shock to anyone that Trump is choosing so far to not release his tax return? Look at how he has been treated by the media and everyone on the left who oppose him. It doesn't matter what he does, they dig and dig until they find one little thing to criticize him about, then they blow it out of proportion, making it out to be breaking headline news, worthy of immediate impeachment. If they can't find anything, they just make stuff up!

Sure, every other president in recent history has released their tax returns. But they did it voluntarily; not because it was a requirement. None of those former presidents had anything even close to the wealth of Trump, so there is hardly even a fair comparison between them. Also, none of those men were ever run through the gauntlet by the media in the way that Trump has been. Even if they had been, social media wasn't around to help spread the newest absurd fabrication of a story among millions of low information voters within minutes of hitting "publish."

My only problem with Trump not releasing his tax return is that he originally said he would do it. While he might have at that time been in the middle of an IRS audit, I doubt that is still going on. However, maybe when he initially said he would release them, he thought the lies and personal attacks against him, his family and his businesses would eventually subside. Instead, after winning the election, the attacks have only increased both in volume and in severity. So if lying about releasing his tax return is the most dishonest thing Trump does while in office, he just might go down as one of the most honest Presidents in history.

At this point, it wouldn't matter if Trump took zero deductions, filed a 1040EZ at the Jackson Hewitt kiosk in Walmart and payed a 40% tax rate. The media would still find something to lambaste him for. He has absolutely nothing to gain by releasing his return. By choosing not to release them, he not only avoids the inevitable attacks and lies that would be directed toward him. He also lets the media continue to waste their time and energy obsessing over this non-story.

Whether you like it or not, Trump is smart, and he knows how to work the media. Even if he can't force them to report on him fairly and honestly, he can still push their narcissistic buttons by refusing to feed their pathetic little egos. Sure, he might be a little rough around the edges. He might not always speak like a polished politician. He certainly doesn't let the media walk all over him, the way any other Republican candidate would have. But that's why he is President and they (with the exception of those appointed to his cabinet) are all back to doing the same thing as before the election.

Tonight, by releasing two pages of Trump's tax return from 11 years ago, after teasing and promoting it for hours as "breaking news", Rachel Maddow has just proven what an ignorant hack she really is.

MSNBC: You are fake news.