John Oliver, in a glorious 22-minute marathon of evisceration, has finally taken on the preposterous (and now terrifying) rise of Donald Trump. Trump, though currently facing a heap of criticism for his troublingly vague answers regarding his thoughts on receiving the very outspoken support of a former KKK Grand Wizard, still remains the leading Republican candidate ahead of Super Tuesday. However, as Oliver makes quite clear, Trump is still peddling the same anti-intellectualism that's long been a central component of his entire brand.
"That is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination advocating for a war crime," Oliver told his Last Week Tonight audience on Sunday, referencing one of Trump's many recent statements of shock and awe stupidity. "[Trump] might say he was joking or he’s changed his mind about any of these things, and private individuals are allowed to change their minds—we all do it—but when he’s sworn in as president on January 20, 2017, on that day, his opinions are going to matter." If the idea of Trump's opinions actually mattering to the point of direct political impact on a global scale absolutely terrifies you, then congratulations. That is presumably the desired effect.
"Think about that," Oliver insisted, referencing Trump's proclamation that his net worth generally just changes with based on how he's feeling. "[Trump] claimed that his net worth changes depending on his mood, which makes absolutely no sense. Partly because he always seems to be in the same mood: Specifically, smug yet gassy." Sadly, many of Trump's closest potential GOP rivals would appear to be doing everything in their power to emulate this smug gassiness.
Likening Trump to a "back mole" that America must now stop ignoring or risk potentially serious consequences, Oliver also made a point to tackle the leading GOP candidate's most troubling aspect: his penchant for dumping gasoline onto racism-fueled fires of xenophobia and general small-mindedness. "The point is, with an answer like that, you are either racist or you are pretending to be," Oliver said of Trump's recent hesitance to immediately decry the ringing support of aforementioned KKK Grand Wizard, David Duke. "At some point, there is no difference there."
