John Oliver Warns Rise Of Authoritarianism On ‘Last Week Tonight’: “America Needs To Be Careful”
John Oliver took a serious turn on his HBO show Last Week Tonight Sunday night, warning about the global trend toward authoritarianism.
Oliver began by ticking off a list of leaders worldwide who have risen to power while exhibiting authoritarian traits, including in Venezuala, the Philippines, Turkey, Turkmenistan, China, Russia and Brazil. Oliver posits the question, who would want a leader with those traits? A lot of people, according to Oliver, including perhaps Americans. He went on to remind viewers that President Donald Trump shares many of those qualities, including admiring displays of force (reminder of his wished-for military parade that was nixed because of cost)in the “same way that a man who is insecure about his penis buys a motorcycle, takes up bodybuilding or invents the Tesla”. Oliver also noted Trump’s admiration for authoritarian leaders, (Trump had even retweeted Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, but Olived noted there’s a good chance Trump thinks Mussolini is a moose eating spaghetti). They also demonize “enemies”, Oliver notes, such as refugees or gay people and try to dismantle any semblance of Democratic institutions, including a free press.
“The real worry here isn’t just that Trump sounds like an authoritarian, it’s that many people in this country like the way that sounds,” said Oliver. He urged people “to remain vigilant” because “the world is dabbling with something very dangerous right now and America needs to be very careful.”
Sunday night’s show was the last of the season. Watch Oliver’s entire monologue above.
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