John Oliver Hits Trump’s Alicia Machado Rant and ‘Horrifying’ Views on Women’s Bodies
~ROCK BOTTOM~
John Oliver Hits Trump’s Alicia Machado Rant and ‘Horrifying’ Views on Women’s Bodies
The ‘Last Week Tonight’ host broke down Trump’s sexist treatment of the former Miss Universe – and women in general.
MARLOW STERN
Last week, John Oliver celebrated his long-awaited return to his HBO program Last Week Tonight with an extensive breakdown of how “dangerous” Donald Trump’s litany of scandals are – and far more damning than those of his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The big story this week concerned Trump’s bizarre preoccupation with former 1996 Miss Universe Alicia Machado.
After getting steamrolled in the first presidential debate and making the bold claim that “I think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament,” Trump went absolutely ballistic over Machado, who was invoked by Clinton during the debate as a prime example of Trump’s gross history of misogyny – with the Republican presidential candidate referring to the beauty queen as “Miss Piggy” in the past.
Oliver then cut to a 1997 interview with Trump and Machado, wherein Trump chided the Venezuelan stunner for gaining weight in front of her face, and then urged viewers of the program to participate in an online poll asking:
“Should a pageant titleholder be required to maintain her physical appearance during her reign?”
‘Dangerous’ Donald Trump’s Scandals Far Worse Than Hillary Clinton’s
On the eve of the first presidential debate, a broadcast event moderated by NBC News’ Lester Holt that’s expected to attract as many as 100 million viewers, John Oliver returned to his Last Week Tonight hosting duties after a month-long hiatus (and one big Emmy win).
There was, of course, a lot for the comedian to unpack on Sunday night’s edition of his acclaimed HBO series, so Oliver chose to dedicate the meat of his program to the 2016 election, or as he called it:
“The electoral equivalent of seeing someone puking so you start puking and then someone else is puking and pretty soon everyone is puking 2016.”
Oliver took it upon himself to inform the voting masses about the two scandal-ridden candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, by running down all of their alleged scandals.
“The point is, this campaign has been dominated by scandals, but it is dangerous to think there is an equal number on both sides,” he concluded. “You can be irritated by some of Hillary’s – that is understandable – but you should then be fucking outraged by Trump’s …He is ethically compromised to an almost unprecedented degree.”
John Oliver addressed Ryan Lochte’s disastrous Olympic gas-station incident in a recent segment on his show ‘Last Week Tonight,’ and boy, he really goes all in on the swimmer. Among the names Oliver slings around for Lochte are “America’s sweet, dumb merman,” “the purest form of the chemical element ‘Bro,’” and several other words that are less repeatable here.
But the best point Oliver makes is that Lochte, who was once, in Oliver’s words, “America’s sweet, dumb merman,” is no longer fun. When he was harmless, his antics — such as his reality show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? and his line of sneakers — were entertaining.
But now, the 32-year-old who said he acted “immaturely” and fumbled through a cringe-worthy interview with Matt Lauer, is a whole lot less endearing.
“And so,” Oliver says, “As we say goodbye to the Rio Olympics, we must also say goodbye to one of America’s favorite idiots.”
John Oliver to Trump: ‘Drop Out’ Now and ‘You Would Be a Legend’
MATT WILSTEIN
08/22/16
The Last Week Tonight host could not leave the HBO airwaves for a month-long hiatus before at least touching on the “racist voodoo doll made of discarded cat hair” also known as Donald Trump.
The host apologized for talking about the GOP candidate so much recently, but after a week that saw Trump continue to drop in the polls, lose his campaign chair Paul Manafort, and begin to take advice from “sexually rapacious hard-boiled egg” Roger Ailes, he predicted this might represent a “fork in the road” for his campaign.
“He’s either hitting bottom, from which he’ll rebound to victory, or it’s the beginning of the end.”
As Oliver sees it, Trump has two options. The first would be a “humiliating” and “off-brand” loss to Hillary Clinton, and the second would be a complete “reset” that allows him to turn things around and win.
So with that in mind, Oliver spoke directly to Trump for the rest of his episode.
(At the time of this writing, Kellyanne Conway and Stephen K. Bannon have become part of Trump’s campaign in an attempt to bring back the campaign on track.)
The HBO host shared a 1996 young adult book called, “The Kid Who Ran For President,” featuring a 12-year-old — who sounds eerily like Trump when he speaks — who becomes president of the United States, only to step down because he’s not qualified.
According to Oliver, Trump was welcome to come on his show and use the conclusion of the book to end his campaign by using the 12-year-old protagonist’s resignation speech — which would sound natural coming from Trump, who once said “I have all the best words”.
In his speech Trump would say:
“I have a question for all the grown-ups of America. Are you out of your minds? Are you expecting me to enforce the Constitution? I never even read it. I was out of school that day.”
“America must be in pretty bad shape if you elected me president,” Trump would continue. ” You better get it together and find some qualified people to run this country, or we’ll all be in big trouble!”
Usher and other artists tell Republicans to ‘stop using our songs’ on John Oliver
“Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver took on Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s history of using unauthorized music in campaigns on his Sunday night show — with the help of a few notable guests.
Oliver began the segment by pointing out the humor in Donald Trump’s song choices over the course of his campaign, including his unauthorized use of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” at last week’s Republican National Convention and a number of other instances of unlicensed song use in the past year.
At the end of the convention, as “a sarcastic amount of balloons” fell from the ceiling, Trump played the Rolling Stones’ 1969 classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” without the band’s permission — to which Oliver quipped, “No sh-t,” in a play on the song’s title.
Oliver criticized Trump’s use of REM’s “It’s the End of the World” as an introduction to his speech on the Iran nuclear agreement earlier this year. He then went on to demonstrate how unauthorized song usage has been a common trend for Republican politicians.
John Oliver returns to take on the Trump convention
By: Steve Johnson, Contact Reporter
And on the seventh day, John Oliver had his say.
The British comedian, star of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” was silent during last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland because he was on hiatus and because his is a weekly show.
But he was back in his regular time slot Sunday, for many of us a day of rest before the Democrats Monday start their already troubled convention in Philadelphia.
Putting his own spin on what just happened in Cleveland, Oliver opened by calling it a “3D IMAX (Expletive) Dumpster Fire.”
And then the show did one of its trademark extended segments on the Republican convention, which was exactly the thing every “LWT” fan wanted to see. You’ll probably see headlines for it Monday like, “Watch John Oliver Eviscerate the RNC” and “You Won’t Believe John Oliver’s Vicious Take-down of Donald Trump.”
Because in Web headline writing, hyperbole means never having to say you didn’t get enough clicks.
John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is an English political satirist, writer, producer, television host, actor, voice actor, media critic, and stand-up comedian. He is widely known in the U.S. for hosting Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and for his work on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
I have been following this story, since Rachel Maddow brought it to the forefront in her TV show on MNSBC.
Rachel even visited Flint, MI, and organized a town hall meeting.
She’s interviewed the major of Flint (several times, in person and on TV), the people living there and the volunteers who have been helping.
However, I was getting frustrated about this because, due to the political circus created by the current race for the 2016 presidency, it seemed as if this very important topic had been forgotten.
Leave it to John Oliver, a Brit, to point the spotlight back on the “lead poisoning” situation, pointing out that this isn’t anything new.
This is a national problem … and one which needs immediate attention.
Take a moment to listen to John …. it’s worth your time.
John Oliver Blasts GOP Over Lead Poisoning American Children
The host of HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ took aim at Republican lawmakers for continually trying to defund lead regulation – which is causing irreparable damage to America’s kids.
“We’ve heard a lot about lead over the past year due to the horrific events in Flint, Michigan,” said John Oliver, leading off his main segment on Last Week Tonight.
Indeed, the crisis in Flint has been declared a federal emergency, with experts claiming that roughly 8,000 to 9,000 kids under age 6 may have suffered permanent brain damage after they were exposed to high levels of lead in the city’s water.
Oliver then threw to clips of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), the Oversight & Government Reform Committee chair, decrying the lack of action in Flint in Congress.
Unfortunately, America’s lead problem isn’t limited to Flint.
A recent USA Today Network report found lead contamination in close to 2,000 additional water systems across all 50 states. There are 7.3 million lead service lines in the U.S., but water isn’t even our biggest threat of lead poisoning—rather, it’s ingesting lead paint dust. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), there are an estimated 2,144,000 homes with a lead dust hazard affecting children under 6, and the CDC further estimates that 535,000 children between ages 1-5 have elevated lead levels in their blood. Since a child can be poisoned to death by only 10 mg of pure lead, ingesting small amounts is highly dangerous.
“There is no safe level of lead. It’s one of those things so dangerous you shouldn’t even let a little bit of it inside you—much like heroin…or Jeremy Piven,” joked Oliver, before getting serious: “Even low-level exposure can lead to irreversible damage, like lower IQs, antisocial behavior, and reduced attention span.”
Oliver then threw to a lead prevention video produced by Sesame Street way back in 1996—a program that then aired on PBS, a government-funded network Senate Republicans tried to defund in 2011—which attempted to communicate the dangers of lead exposure.
~~GRAPHICS SOURCE~~
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I do not own these images.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
“Concerned?” Oliver continued. “That’s what makes it so frustrating that last year, all of those men voted for a bill that would have reduced the already low funding for HUD-led abatement programs by $35 million, amounting to a 32 percent cut. And the truth is, if you cut funding like that, a whole lot more children might get poisoned.”
Thankfully, said Oliver, those cuts didn’t go through—but the funding stayed flat. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have had major funding problems in recent years as well, with some Republican lawmakers—including presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump—desiring to wipe out the EPA altogether.
Cut to an incensed Oliver: “I thought poisoned children was something we were all justifiably outraged by?”
On Sunday, February 28, Last Week Tonight‘s John Oliver showed no mercy and annihilated Donald Trump’s viability as a presidential candidate.
In his 22-minute spiel, he dismantled Trump’s promises, suggested that he was a “serial liar,” and, most delightfully, took him back to his ancestral roots. As Oliver pointed out,”Trump” sounds elite … but “Drumpf”? Not so much. Most of us might be surprised to learn that Trump’s ancestors came to the States with the surname “Drumpf” and changed it to “Trump.”
The GOP frontrunner doesn’t tend to shy away from anything. He’ll dismiss something questionable completely and call it “stupid” before he acknowledges a complaint or provides a viable answer. And somehow he gets away with doing so. Oddly, though, that bold, pompous demeanor hasn’t come out in response to Oliver’s new parody campaign, “Make Donald Drumpf Again!“
The NYC billionaire hasn’t said a word in response to the segment. But don’t stop holding your breath.
Something must be brewing.
~~GRAPHICS SOURCE~~
Google Images
I do not own these images.
No intention of taking credit.
If anyone knows the owner of any, please advise and it will be corrected immediately.
“IOTD” is image of the day, a concept I came up with. I teach visual meditative therapy – or in easy terms – a mini mental holiday. For some people it is very difficult for them to get their image right. I post an image a day for people to use in their mini mental vacay. Some are serious, some are silly, and some are just beautiful!”
St. Valentine’s Day, the day of love and friendship was only a day ago.
The Pope’s USA visit was a while ago.
Where has all the “LOVE” gone?
While we all respect and offer condolences to the Scalia Family, some are making this a circus by claiming incredible erroneous facts and bending the laws of this country to their benefit.
America, this is what you have. It this what you want to keep?
Read on.
I takes a set of British eyes and a reasonable mind to see what some don’t see or, rather, don’t want to see.
John Oliver Slams Republicans for Attempting to Block Obama’s SCOTUS Choice
In his return to HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ the Brit took aim at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Republican leadership for advocating against the president’s constitutional right.
In an unprecedented move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the following statement just one hour after the sudden passing of divisive Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
While there have been Senate objections to SCOTUS appointees in the past under similar circumstances, launching an instant, preemptive rejection of any candidate the president chooses is a first.
He then threw to a clip of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump endorsing Sen. McConnell’s historic stand during last night’s South Carolina debate, saying, “I think it’s up to Mitch McConnell and everybody else to stop it. It’s called delay, delay, delay.”
“Well, that does not bode well because Mitch McConnell is actually pretty good at delaying things for people – whether it’s legislation, court appointments, or orgasms,” joked Oliver. “Believe me, if you ever need to ‘delay, delay, delay’ [an orgasm], just picture [McConnell’s] face and I guarantee you nothing will happen possibly for the rest of your life.”
He then threw to a 2008 clip of Sen. McConnell addressing the Senate
“Our Democratic colleagues continually talk about the so-called Thurmond Rule, under which the Senate supposedly stops confirming judges in a presidential election year,” said McConnell.
“This seeming obsession with this rule that doesn’t exist is just an excuse for our colleagues to run out the clock on qualified nominees who are waiting to fill badly-needed vacancies.”
Oops. Sen. McConnell also stated in 2005 that he supported a sitting president’s absolute right to nominate judges, although that – again – was when a Republican sat in the White House.
“Yes, it seems the ‘Thurmond Rule’ is a bit like God: when things are going your way, you don’t bring it up a lot, but as soon as you’re in trouble it is all that you talk about,” quipped Oliver.
~John Oliver slams Republicans for attempting to block Obama’s SCOTUS choice~
~Published on Feb 15, 2016~
In his return to HBO’s ‘Last Week Tonight,’ the Brit took aim at Mitch McConnell and the Republican leadership for advocating against the president’s constitutional right.
In an unprecedented move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the following statement just one hour after the sudden passing of divisive Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia:
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”
While there have been Senate objections to SCOTUS appointees in the past under similar circumstances, launching an instant, preemptive rejection of any candidate the president chooses is a first.
Watch John Oliver Cast His Ballot for Voting Rights for U.S. Territories
ROCK THE VOTE … A TAD LATE BUT ALWAYS INFORMATIVE
To help commemorate the 50th anniversary of the march on Selma, Alabama, John Oliver focused his Last Week Tonight ire on a topic that does not tend to generate headlines: voting rights for the U.S. island territories — that is, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Marianas Islands.
According to Oliver, there are 4.1 million people living in Puerto Rico and the island territories. Of that population, 98.4% are racial or ethnic minorities, none of whom have the right to vote in U.S. elections. According to Oliver, the more you look into the reasons that the U.S. territories don’t have voting rights, the harder it is to understand why these dated laws have not been changed.
Way back in 1901, it was said that the island territories were inhabited by “alien races” that couldn’t “understand Anglo-Saxon principles” and thus were denied the vote. That hasn’t changed, despite the fact that even at the time, American legal thinkers thought that the territories’ lack of voting power should only last for a limited time.
Fast forward 114 years and the U.S. citizens living on these territories still can’t vote, which Oliver compares to failing to update your computer operating system for over a millennium.
~~GALLERY~~
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But Puerto Rico is lucky compared to some of the other U.S. territories.
American Samoans aren’t even automatically granted U.S. citizenship, which, according to Oliver, renders the “American” part as moot as the phrases “social media expert” or “People’s Choice Award nominee.” Instead, they’re considered U.S. nationals, but not citizens. Over on Guam, 27% of the island is occupied by U.S. Navy and Air Force bases, and a staggering high number of Guam citizens are veterans of the U.S. military, but they still have no voting rights. Despite that, Guam holds a straw poll every presidential election and has higher voter turn-out than any other U.S. state — you know, the ones whose votes actually count.
It’s a valuable civics lesson and an important reminder to ask — if you don’t mind cribbing a line from Oliver — how is this still a thing?
The US Supreme Court in the early 20th century ruled that these territories are inhabited by “alien races” that may not be able to understand Anglo-Saxon principles that guide American law. Although this decision wasn’t supposed to be permanent, governments as recent as the Obama administration have cited it to continue denying people in US territories equal rights.
“There are a lot of complicated issues surrounding what the precise status of all the US territories should be and what the people who live there would prefer,” Oliver said.
“But surely, when it comes to denying Americans the right to vote, we have to find a better reason than citing a 100-year-old legal decision written by a racist that was always supposed to be temporary.”
I am very much aware of this situation in Puerto Rico, my country. However, I must confess that I wasn’t aware that this was the case with the other territories. I didn’t even know which other countries in this world were “territories”.
This is something that I wasn’t taught about in school.
Since I read the best selling book “War Against All Puerto Ricans” by Nelson A. Denis, I’ve been looking at the past. I have learned facts that are making me question the “nature of the beast”.
AMERICAN BULLY
I’ve been wondering what the historical relationship between the United States, Guam, the Philippines and even Hawaii has been.
“America’s five unincorporated territories and commonwealths: Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands.”
From the “War Against All Puerto Ricans” book:
Don Pedro Albizu Campos expressed his amazement at how “owning a man makes you a scoundrel, yet owning a nation makes you a colonial benefactor.”
It Is What It Is 