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'The Daily Show' rips fawning Senators at Tim Cook's tax hearing

'The Daily Show' rips fawning Senators at Tim Cook's tax hearing

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jon stewart (comedy central)
jon stewart (comedy central)

US Senators’ indulgent treatment of Apple CEO Tim Cook at this week’s hearing on tax avoidance didn’t escape the writers at The Daily Show. On Wednesday’s episode, host Jon Stewart skewered lawmakers like John McCain (R, AZ) and Claire McCaskill (D, MO) with a supercut of fawning and adoration, punctuated with lines like "you’ve managed to change the world," "we love the iPhone and the iPad," and "I harassed my husband until he converted to a MacBook." Cook was called in to testify about Apple’s offshore profit shifting — avoiding US taxes on over $100 billion of income by keeping it stashed overseas.

After throwing in a shot about Apple Maps, the host ripped the senators for asking Cook what kind of tax code he thought would be best for Apple. "What rate do you think we want to be at if we want to be competitive?" asked Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R, NH). Naturally, Cook had suggestions — "a dramatic simplifcation of the tax code," or what Stewart called the Tax Code Nano.