Radio host Rush Limbaugh erupted on the American media Monday after details from Donald Trump’s 1995 income tax returns were leaked.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that Mr. Trump’s investments over two decades ago resulted in $916 million in losses, which made him eligible to avoid paying $50 million per year in taxable incoming for 18 years. Mr. Limbaugh said the newspaper’s decision to publish the illegally obtained information shows the mainstream media “is literally a Democrat Party campaign organization.”
“Everybody’s known the media’s a bunch of leftists, but never before, people are saying, have they seen the media so publicly throw away every pretense of journalism, in public, with smiles on their faces and with pride, just abandon all concepts of journalism, integrity, fairness, objectivity, to throw in with the Democrat candidate. They’ve never seen it like this before,” Mr. Limbaugh said.
The conservative host defended his position by noting the New York Times’ refusal to print hacked emails from University of East Anglia during the “Climategate” scandal in 2009, along with media coverage of Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid’s false statements about Mitt Romney’s taxes in 2012.
“All I know is I’m sick and tired of this kind of phony baloney, plastic banana, good-time rock ‘n’ roller obvious character assassination work,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “I’m tired of it working. I’m sick and tired of it working. I’m sick and tired of the corruption winning. I’m sick and tired of the fraudsters getting away with it because not enough of the American people know enough or care enough to react to it in the right way, or for whatever reason.
“This corruption is destroying every institution and every tradition that has defined this nation and its greatness,” he said. “And it sets out to destroy anybody who wants to maintain those traditions and institutions or strengthen them. And I’m like you, I’m fed up with these people prevailing. But this is what the left has wrought.”
Mr. Reid was asked March 31, 2015, if he regretted spreading rumors about Mr. Romney’s tax returns from the Senate floor — with zero evidence — during President Obama’s re-election campaign.
“Romney didn’t win, did he?” the Democrat told CNN’s Dana Brash.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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