Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Seth Meyers don't believe Trump on his tax promises

(Image credit: Screenshots/YouTube/The Late Show/The Daily Show/Late Night)

published 29 September 2017

Have you ever wondered, "What can I do, even in my own small way, to make rich people richer?" Stephen Colbert asked on Thursday's Late Show. No? "Then you did not write Donald Trump's tax plan." He pointed to an analysis that shows President Trump saving at least $31 million a year in taxes under his own plan. "Those are lotto numbers," he said. "I mean, that's not just Powerball, that's I'm In Powerball."

"Even though the GOP's tax plan is only going to benefit the wealthy few, they're pitching it to the everybody else," Colbert noted, highlighting a pitch from Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is black. "It's not like Sen. Scott is the only Republican who could have delivered that message," #KeepYoMoney, he said. "They could have gone with the GOP's second-most-diverse senator, Caucasian Q. Whitington III, but they already have him promoting the bill's original hashtag, #RetainThyEstate."

Still, pivoting to taxes must be a relief for Republicans, Trevor Noah said on The Daily Show. "Republicans are like that jock at school who's bad at every subject but kills it at P.E." Trump sold his plan as a "middle-class miracle," and Noah feigned surprise that it isn't: "What? This whole plan is a cash-cow for Trump? I'm starting to wonder if the only reason he ran for president was to lower his own taxes?" If so, he added, "first it'll have to get though Congress — which, at this stage, would be a miracle, believe me."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.