Much to his chagrin, John Oliver, host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, has had to spend more time than he would have preferred discussing the presidential candidacy of business mogul Donald Trump. With the sometime-Access Hollywood guest winning the presidency last Tuesday, fans of Last Week Tonight expected Oliver to give his thoughts on Trump’s win. Or, as Oliver put it at the beginning of Sunday’s episode:
How the fuck did we get here and what the fuck do we do now?
To that end, Oliver devoted the entirety of last night’s airing to how Trump managed to secure the win and become President-Elect of the United States. Oliver puts much of the blame on the media, as for months it gave Trump hours of free airtime as a readily accessible pulpit from which to spew whatever fact-ish like ramblings or exclaim petty diatribes whenever he pleased. Social media was also in Oliver’s sights, as anyone scrolling through their newsfeeds knows that there are scores of articles pumping out misinformation that prey on the populace’s lack of discernment.
However, that said, Oliver warned viewers that, if they were appalled that Trump has been elected to the United States’ highest office, they must be vigilant and proactive in their efforts to ensure that groups who might be hurt from Trump’s proposed policies are protected.
Oh, and does this year seem like it was particularly exhausting and downright shitty? Oliver feels you and gives an appropriate and exuberant “Fuck you” to 2016 at the close of the episode.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will return sometime in 2017.