Trevor Noah congratulates the rich on the GOP tax plan.

The Daily Show Says the GOP Tax Plan Rewards People Who Made the “Good Choice” to Be Rich

The Daily Show Says the GOP Tax Plan Rewards People Who Made the “Good Choice” to Be Rich

Brow Beat has moved! You can find new stories here.
Brow Beat
Slate's Culture Blog
Dec. 5 2017 2:51 PM

The Daily Show Says the GOP Tax Plan Rewards People Who Made the “Good Choice” to Be Rich

171205_browbeat_trevornoahgoptaxplan

The Daily Show

Very late into Friday night, millionaires got their first big win of the Trump administration—and for those among the struggling working class who supported Trump, their next big loss—with the passage of the GOP’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which included sweeping tax cuts that “make all those clenched smiles next to Trump totally worth it,” said Trevor Noah on Monday’s Daily Show.

Noah never stops smiling, but he was smiling through outrage at the GOP’s blatant favoritism toward those at the top. From slashing the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, to tax breaks for owners of private jets, wineries, golf courses, and those paying private school tuition, the bill lends a helping hand to the very, very, very rich. Noah congratulated the rich on their choices: “If you’re flying your kids to their private school on your personal jet from your golf course–winery, then your problems are finally over.”

Advertisement

Noah laid into the process by which the bill had been passed: Hurriedly, secretively, and with last-minute, handwritten additions that were hardly legible. The GOP finished their tax bill the same way Noah finishes exams: cramming in more details even after the teacher has said “pens down!” The 400-plus-page bill might matter a tiny bit more than Trevor Noah’s exams, though: “Instead of the difference between a B and the B minus, this is the difference between does the oil business get an extra $50 billion?”

Noah also lampooned Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who seems to think that rich people didn’t just need but deserved a tax break. Grassley says they should be rewarded for their investments and that those who aren’t rich must have wasted money on “booze or women or movies.” That’s right, women.

“For people who decided to be rich instead of poor, good call,” added Noah. “ ’Cause this is going to be great for you, man. It’s a good choice. More people should make it.”