The HBO talk show host who brings us political comedy seems to get funnier every week. He’s also become quite informative. Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver starts off his February 28 show about someone he has chosen, so far, to ignore — Donald Trump, who is “like a back mole,” Oliver says, “ that may have seemed harmless a year ago, but now that he's gotten frighteningly bigger and it’s is no longer wise to ignore him.” In dispelling many of the myths believed about Trump by his followers, John Oliver starts by going after the Republican frontrunner’s integrity or lack of:
I’m not even sure he knows he’s lying. I think he just doesn’t know what the truth is.
In his comic way, Oliver begins to stomp out the most common Trump myths.
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Myth 1: Trump tells it like it is. Politifact rates 76% of what Trump says as “false” to some degree. Oliver reels off some Trump’s lies, including when the GOP candidate said he was invited on the show with Oliver—five times. Not true. Oliver would know.
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Myth 2: Trump’s campaign funding is totally independent. I’m rich, therefore I tell the truth. He’s loaned his own campaign over $17 million and gifted it $250k, meaning at the end of the campaign he can pay himself back with campaign funds. Trump says he’s self-funded, but had taken in over $7 million in individual contributions according to the Federal Election Commission.
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Myth 3: Trump is tough. Trump threatens to sue whenever he gets his feelings hurt (but in most cases he doesn’t follow through).
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Myth 4: Trump is worth in excess of $10 billion. But that figure has been disputed several times saying his worth is closer to $150 millions—$250 million. Oliver says claims Trumps net worth seems to changes with his mood.
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Myth 5: The Trump name signifies wealth and success. To counter that claim, John Oliver begins to list Trump failures:
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Trump Shuttle no longer exists,
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Trump Vodka was discontinued
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Trump Magazine folded
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Trump World Magazine also folded
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Trump University is being sued
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Trump Travel booking GoSite.com failed
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Trump Steaks is no more
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Trump Mortgage which also failed — noting some of Trump’s so-called “Trump buildings” are not owned by Trump at all. The building owners merely license Trump’s name.
And then there are the issues of Trump constantly changing of views which is fine for the average person, Oliver says, but not for a president. Trump is pro-choice, then pro-life. He’s for an assault weapon ban, then against it. He’s for bringing Syrian refugees into the country, and then wants to deport them out of the country. Oliver adds that David Duke, former Grand Dragon of the KKK, told supporters to vote for Trump. When Trump was asked about it Sunday morning, he said he didn’t know what “white supremacy” meant or who David Duke was … right, even though Trump has called Duke a “bigot and a racist” in the past. To further attack Trump, Oliver shows a Fox News clip of Trump saying, “When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families.” Oliver says, “that’s a frontrunner for the Republican nomination advocating a war crime. “
Then comes the show’s zinger. After researching, John Oliver tells the audience one of Trump’s ancestors changed the family name to Trump from, “Drumpf.” Then Oliver asks America to start using the slogan: Make Donald Drumpf Again with hashtag #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain. Oliver says they have filed the paperwork to trademark, “Donald Drumpf” and they now own the DonaldJDrumpf.com website where you can get an Drumpf browser extension and buy Drumpf hats (at no profit to the show) The hats say, “Make America Drumpf Again.”
Cheers to John Oliver and HBO for doing the research and for going after a presidential candidate who is not only a HUGE embarrassment to this country—he is a HUGE danger to the world.