John Oliver Slams Trump’s ‘Over-the-Top’ Response to ICE Raid Protests
During the longest-ever episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, host John Oliver spoke at-length about how Donald Trump has responded to protests against recent raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
After showing footage of ICE detaining people in Los Angeles, Oliver said, “That is awful. Someone yelling ICE is almost never going to be a positive thing. Best-case scenario, you’ve somehow time traveled back to 2014 and have to do an ice bucket challenge, something, by the way, that [Trump] did because he was nominated by, this is true, Mike Tyson, Vince McMahon and Homer Simpson. It was a simpler time.”
The talk show host specifically referenced the protests in Los Angeles, which led to Trump sending in the National Guard to, as the president put it, “protect federal law enforcement from the attacks of a vicious and violent mob.” He also pointed out that Trump defended his decision by mentioning the fires that swiped through California earlier this year. “If we didn’t do it, there wouldn’t be a Los Angeles,” Trump said in a clip. “It’d be burning today just like the houses were burning a number of months ago.”
Oliver called the president “suck a d**k” for bringing the fires into the conversation. “There is just no reason to bring up the traumatic fires that are still very much on people’s minds in L.A. for the same reason you shouldn’t open a toast at a retirement party with, ‘Wow, [the] only milestone left after this is death.’ Yeah, everyone knows that and we’re all trying not to think about it.”
He said Trump’s response to everything “felt completely over-the-top, especially when you consider troops will apparently be there for 60 days at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $134 million.” He then joked, “And usually when that much is spent on something completely pointless, we at least get to see one of the Avengers in it.”
The entire episode was 49 minutes long, making it the longest in Oliver’s 12-season run on Last Week Tonight. Following the conversation about the ICE raids, Oliver discussed the juvenile justice system in America. His 38-minute talk about the “flaws” of the justice system took up a majority of the episode.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Sundays, 11/10c, HBO
From TV Guide Magazine
Behind the Scenes With Gordon Ramsay: 20 Years of Cooking Up TV Hits
The celebrity chef reflects on redefining culinary television and his fiery journey Hell’s Kitchen to Secret Service. Read the story now on TV Insider.
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services