Just as he took on the Republican National Convention last week, John Oliver was set to do the same with the Democratic National Convention on Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight. But apparently he didn't find a lot to lampoon in the speeches of Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic leaders, and so aside from poking some fun at Joe Biden's Soul Cycle-level intensity and the DNC's scandalous start, Oliver's recap was mostly about—you guessed it—Donald Trump.
After all, it was Trump's doom-and-gloom GOP convention acceptance speech that opened the door for Democrats to use their convention to appeal to Republicans with more traditional conservative values. While the DNC may not have been about zeroing in so sharply on Trump as the RNC was about targeting Hillary Clinton, lobbing grenades his way was certainly a theme.
One DNC speaker who took aim at Trump was Khizr Khan, a Muslim-American whose son was killed while serving the country in Iraq. Khan criticized Trump, emphatically asking if he had even read the Constitution before pulling a copy out of his coat pocket and offering it to the GOP nominee. It was a powerful moment, and one that is now back at the top of the news cycle because of how Trump responded to it during an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
After a clip of Trump cavalierly calling Khan a "nice guy" and wondering if his wife "wasn't allowed" to speak, Oliver looked visibly distraught. "For a start," he said, "his wife explained that she chose not to speak because she gets too upset when she sees images of her dead son's face, you fucking asshole."
We then see Trump listing his own sacrifices: "I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot."
When Stephanopoulos pointed out that he didn't feel these were sacrifices, Trump simply said he thinks they are. What about Oliver?
"No! No! They are absolutely not. They are self-serving half-truths from a self-serving half man who has somehow convinced half the country that sacrifice is the same as success. Honestly, the main takeaway from these two weeks is that, incredibly, we may be on the brink of electing such a damaged, sociopathic narcissist that the simple presidential duty of comforting the families of fallen soldiers may be beyond his capabilities. I genuinely did not think that was a part of the job that someone could be bad at."
The conventions may be over, but, unfortunately, similar comments from Trump are going to lead the news cycle for (at least) another three months. Oliver had better pace himself.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Ryan Bort is a staff writer covering culture for Newsweek. Previously, he was a freelance writer and editor, and his ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
