John Oliver Mocks Trump’s Press Room ‘Suck Ups’ & Shares His Love for ‘Doctor Odyssey’

John Oliver took aim at President Donald Trump and his increasingly ‘sycophantic’ White House press room briefings on Sunday night’s (May 18) episode of Last Week Tonight.

The late-night host touched on how Trump has been “stocking the press room with suck ups” and “managing to get the sycophantic questions he prefers” during his recent press briefings despite the Associated Press being allowed back in the Oval Office.

“And even if you haven’t noticed that, he definitely has,” Oliver said before throwing to a montage of the President responding to praise-heavy questions by saying, “I love this guy.” In one clip, Trump says, “I love this guy, whoever the hell that is.”

“That’s pretty humiliating,” Oliver responded. “And not just because ‘I love this guy, whoever the hell that is,’ is almost definitely how Trump opened a toast at Eric’s [Trump] wedding.”

“It’s no coincidence that Trump’s been getting more flattering questions,” the comedian continued. “Because the White House has increasingly let far-right new outlets and influencers into press events.”

He then cited a Media Matters investigation, which found that four out of the five reporters most frequently called on by Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, were from right-wing outlets.

Oliver noted that one of those reporters was Cara Castronuova of Lindell TV, an outlet bankrolled by staunch Trump supporter and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. The host played a clip of Castronuova asking the President about his “fitness plan” and how he “looks healthier than ever before.”

“That is an actual question a White House reporter asked,” Oliver added. “And everything about that is unsettling.”

Earlier in the show, Oliver showed what happens when reporters ask questions that hold Trump accountable. When an ABC News reporter asked what the President would say to those who think he shouldn’t accept Qatar’s $400 million plane as a gift, Trump slammed the journalist, saying he should be “embarrassed” and that ABC is “fake news.”

“That is pretty hostile,” Oliver said before going on a tangent about an ABC show he loves, “though I actually agree ABC should be embarrassed, just not for that entirely legitimate question, but for the fact that, as of taping, they still haven’t renewed Doctor Odyssey for Season 2.”

The British comic was referencing Ryan Murphy’s maritime medical drama, which stars Joshua Jackson as Dr. Max Bankman, a doctor working aboard luxury cruise ship. ABC has yet to renew the show for a second season.

“What the f*** are you doing ABC?” Oliver continued. “It’s sexy ER on a boat. It’s The Pitt with sharks. It’s got — and I’m not even gonna try and beat their tagline on this — ‘big deck energy.’”

“In its pilot episode alone, it featured a water slide injury, someone overdosing on shrimp and this,” he added, playing a clip from the series in which a passenger suffers a penile fracture. “Are you not entertained?!”

He added, “How is ABC renewing shows called The Rookie and Will Trent, whose premise is apparently just ‘despite being dyslexic, he’s become a special agent in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’? What? But they haven’t renewed the only show brave enough to answer the question: ‘What if sick but boat?’”

“I shouldn’t complain about the other shows, I shouldn’t care that a show about a rookie is returning for its premise-defying eighth season, and I don’t begrudge any audience members for sticking around to find out if their favorite characters will or won’t Trent. All I’m saying, ABC’s The View has been on since 1997 and Doctor Hotboat is still in limbo. You’re a disgrace ABC, your network is a disaster!”

You can watch Oliver’s full monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.