Late-night comics took turns to lambast Donald Trump’s tax reform plans and his lethargic response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico.

“Folks have you ever woken up and said to yourself first thing in the morning ‘what can I do, even in my own small way, to make rich people richer?’” asked Stephen Colbert at the start of his monologue on Trump and taxation. “If the answer is: you’ve never done that, then you did not write Donald Trump’s tax plan,” he added.

After showing a clip of Trump suggesting that the changes to tax policy would not benefit him in any way Colbert responded by doing an impression of the president. “Doing the right thing never seems to be good for Donald Trump. ‘Oh, what do people like? Racial equality and American football? How do I ruin both of those at once?’

Colbert went on to point out that based on the latest Trump tax return available to the American people, Trump would save $31m if calculated using his suggested changes to taxation. “Those are Lotto numbers,” said Colbert. “That’s not Powerball, that’s I’m in Powerball.”

The comedian also focused on members of the Trump campaign using private email accounts to conduct White House matters – something the president lambasted Hillary Clinton for while on the campaign trail. “Of course, Trump has no problem with this now,” said Colbert. “I’ve not seen Trump go back on his word like this since he didn’t build a border wall, or repeal Obamacare, or give up his businesses, or release his tax return … or never play golf.”

“He’s flip-flopping so much, he’s going to take a knee during the national anthem,” he added.

Seth Meyers weighed in on the taxation policy too. “The only way he would raise taxes on the rich is if he could pick which rich people,” said Meyers. “‘Rosie O’Donnell – she’s going to get her taxes raised. Meryl Streep has got to pay her fair share. Everyone in the NBA except for the tall white guys.’”

Trevor Noah turned his attention to the impact of hurricanes Maria and Irma on Puerto Rico, and to Trump’s response to the crisis. He picked up on Trump’s ham-fisted efforts to discuss the logistical difficulties involved in getting aid to a Caribbean island.

“I know it seems like President Trump doesn’t know what he’s speaking about but that’s just because he doesn’t know how to speak,” joked Noah. “The essence of what he’s trying to say is true: that is, compared to states on the mainland it’s harder to get help to Puerto Rico.”

Noah suggested that Trump should have a translator in the same way a foreign leader who doesn’t speak English would have.

He went on to discuss the phenomenon of donor fatigue, which is: “It feels like there’s a new hurricane every week, but the truth is everyone still needs to help. Don’t think of it as a donation, think of it as paying Puerto Rico back for all they’ve given us: Despacito, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lopez.”

“If you’ve ever listened to Despacito, you should give a dollar. If you’re a fan of Hamilton, give a dollar. If you’ve ever fantasized about J-Lo, give a dollar,” he joked.