John Oliver, much like yourself, could not have predicted the current state of American politics. Speaking with Stephen Colbert on Monday’s Late Show, Oliver outlined his surprise that Donald Trump had successfully hijacked the White House race. Of course, when we last saw Oliver reclining on Colbert’s couch, the Last Week Tonight host was passionately expressing his general disinterest in all things Trump. "I couldn’t give less of a shit," Oliver said during an appearance in October. It’s the 2016 election. It’s 2015 right now." That was then. This is now.
"I didn’t care and I didn’t think I’d have to care," Oliver admitted to Colbert, referencing his previous appearance. "Then it turned out I did." Adding that "none of us" thought we’d be here, Oliver said his recent Last Week Tonight evisceration of Trump—though certainly long overdue—was the result of hours and hours of careful work.
"We were trying to separate the mascot of Donald Trump from the man," Oliver said. "We wanted to separate that and find a division so you could look at him through fresh eyes." Of course, as anyone who saw that Last Week Tonight segment will agree, not even a "fresh eyes" approach to Trump softens his blow to the future of American politics.
As for his ingenious attempt to "make Donald Drumpf again," Oliver says the effort has proven a resounding success. According to Oliver, HBO moved more than 35,000 Drumpf hats and even landed a special request from none other than Jay Z. "Apparently Jay Z's people called, asking for a hat," Oliver recalled before giving Jay some advice: "Spring for a hat. Let it trickle down."
Wear the hat in public, Jay. Wear the hat and change the world.
