John Oliver: Donald Trump Tyrannizes TV News Week With “Bat-Sh*t Crazy” News Conference, Terrorism-In-Sweden Speech
John Oliver opened his latest edition of HBO’s Last Week Tonight talking about President Trump – “two words that will always sound unnatural together, like ‘f*ckable clown’ or ‘Wolf Blitzer,'” he said.
Donald Trump once again dominated the news cycle, including Saturday’s “pointless rally” that nonetheless got roadblock cable-news coverage, though much of it was boilerplate Trump: “Media is fake, Chicago is a nightmare, I’m the Greatest.”
But, catching people’s attention: While warning about “the danger of refugees,” Trump mentioned, “You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden! Who would believe this – Sweden! They took in large numbers; they’re having problems like they never thought possible.”
Sweden’s response. Oliver noted: “What is your president talking about?!”
“A quick message to all other countries on Earth: In the future you’re going to find yourself wanting to ask, ‘What is your president talking about?’ a great deal. And the answer almost always is going to be, ‘We have no f*cking idea.”
Trump has admitted since that his Sweden comment was in reference to a Fox News Channel piece the previous night concerning immigration and that Nordic country.
“Sifting through Trump’s brain to see why he said something is now like examining a shark’s stomach to see what it ate,” Oliver described.
“Here is where we’re at right now: Trump can dominate the news merely by referencing something that did not happen in Sweden.”
With so much of the news cycle devoted to Trump, other fascinating stories got shorted. That includes the murder of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un’s half brother as he waited for a plane by a woman who claims she thought she was taking part in a TV prank show. And the Florida man behind bars after plotting to blow up Target stores along the East Coast, in hopes of sending company stock plummeting so he could buy shares on the cheap.
Instead, Oliver found himself compelled to talk Trump again “because you cannot avoid him.”
In the past week alone, Trump:
Designated the media as enemies of the American people;
Had his EPA-hating nominee for head of the EPA confirmed;
Lost his nominee for Labor Secretary, and his National Security Adviser; and
Signed a bill undoing Barack Obama’s protection for waterways from coal mining waste.
“But perhaps nothing summed up Trump’s week better than his batsh*t crazy press conference on Thursday.” Most particularly, his exchange with African-American journalist April Ryan, in which he asked her to set up a meeting between him and the Congressional Black Caucus.
“What hits you first there is the incredible racism of assuming all black people are friends,” Oliver said. “It’s not until later you appreciate the sexism of his thinking all women are there to perform secretarial tasks for you.
“The guy packs so much into so little.”
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