John Oliver has not attempted to hide his disdain for Donald Trump. In late August, the Last Week Tonight host proposed that the Republican presidential candidate should drop out of the race in order to preserve his ego. And two weeks ago, the British comedian offered up his Emmy to the Emmy-less Trump if he agreed to deliver a concession speech.
Now, in his final HBO show before Election Day, Oliver pleaded with his audience to vote Tuesday to not only prevent “the human equivalent of a clear plastic bag filled with cheeseburgers and Confederate flag belt buckles” from assuming the highest office in the land, but also to have a say in important down-ballot initiatives, from measures on the minimum wage, legalizing marijuana, and the death penalty. To prepare, you can Google “view my ballot,” type in your address, and see who or what is on the ballot in your area.
“The point is that there is a lot to consider on Tuesday and then, barring recounts, this nightmare of a campaign will be over—which is good, because this election hasn’t so much appealed to our better angels as it has groped our better angels, mocked their weight, and called them ‘6s at best,’” said Oliver. “We are at a point where this man [Trump] has a genuine shot at the presidency despite having blown up a political party, undermined confidence in our electoral system, declared open season on journalists, and unleashed a river of racism and misogyny. Also, and I feel like we’ve lost sight of this: He has really stupid hair.”
And the election result, Oliver claimed, is anything but a sure thing. Not too long ago, the idea of the orange ex-reality-TV host running for president of the United States was a big fat joke. The funnyman then threw to a video of him begging Trump to run for POTUS while guest-hosting The Daily Show three years ago (“Do it! Look at me: Do it. I will personally write you a campaign check now on behalf of this country which doesn’t want you to be president, but which badly wants you to run”), as well as another clip of him declaring that “the Chicago Cubs will never, ever win the World Series.”
“I’m an idiot,” said Oliver. “But that clearly shows no outcome is certain, so if you are thinking you don’t have to show up to vote on Tuesday because there is no way the impossible could happen, take it from somebody who has learned from painful experience: You are wrong about that.”
Earlier in the program, Oliver also took the time to address the recent reports that the FBI had cleared Hillary Clinton of any wrongdoing in her email imbroglio.
“Just before we taped, there was breaking news regarding those new emails found on Anthony Weiner’s computer that started a shitstorm last week. The FBI’s apparently finished reviewing them and has said they warrant no new action against Hillary Clinton—which is a big deal, although watch Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway try to minimize it in truly incredible fashion,” said Oliver.
He then presented a clip of Conway on MSNBC saying of the Clinton email news: “I don’t believe it is politically good or bad information for our campaign. We have not made this a centerpiece of our messaging.”“Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!” exclaimed Oliver, completely beside himself. “In the word cloud of your campaign, ‘email’ is right up there with ‘wall,’ ‘Mexicans,’ ‘big league,’ ‘[unintelligible],’ ‘sniffle,’ and ‘WRONG.’ And look, who knows if this new information about the emails will change any minds. The truth is, if you’re still undecided, I don’t know if I can help you.”
