John Oliver emerged from his extended slumber on Sunday night to deliver back-to-back dissections of the nation’s leading unpoppable pimple: the Republican National Convention. In addition to featuring GOP nominee Donald Trump's speech of "bile and race-baiting," the RNC was another in a long series of examples of aloof politicians (namely Republicans) insisting on using classic songs without the approval of the respective artists who recorded them. The catch? Very few of those artists are actually, um, Republican-inclined.
To make sure politicians get the message and stop using such songs, Oliver asked some musical friends to drop by Last Week Tonight for a rousing performance of "Don't Use Our Song." Usher, Michael Bolton, Heart, Josh Groban, Cyndi Lauper, and more were kind enough to tell politicians to fuck off with spot-on lines like "Don't use our song 'cause you use it wrong." For the more troll-esque politicians in the game, just remember: you can't use this timely joke song in your rallies, either.
"Holy shit!" Oliver added after playing a clip of Trump's RNC speech, which was loaded with straight-up false statistics. "He sounds like he's about to announce the first annual Hunger Games. It's worth noting that since President Obama took office, crime rates, the flow of illegal immigrants over our borders, and claims for unemployment benefits have all declined. And yet frighteningly, when reporters started pointing that out, it didn't seem to matter."
Oliver took special note of Republicans' recent habit of valuing so-called "feelings" over actual facts, pointing to quotes from briefly rumored VP pick Newt Gingrich and, of course, Trump himself. "Remember, [Trump] is a man that has retaliated against journalists and has at various points advocated killing terrorists' families, endorsed torture, and expressed admiration for leaders like Kim Jong-un, Saddam Hussein, and Vladimir Putin," Oliver said. "His message this week was the message of every strongman ever: the world is dangerous and only I can make you safe."
