John Oliver Lays Into Trump for His Shameful Criticisms of the Khan Family
August 01, 2016
John Oliver didn't exactly give the DNC a huge thumbs up on his show Sunday night.
"After the bizarre Republican circus that preceded it all they really had to do was not appear like a complete disaster," Oliver recalled.
Yet, between the Russian email hack, and the revolt among Sanders supporters which followed, many at the DNC couldn't seem to keep it together.
"Before Debbie Wasserman-Schultz could even gavel in the convention, a leaked email scandal had forced her to resign and Bernie Sanders supporters gave her a rough reception when she met with her own States delegation," John Oliver, host of "Last Week Tonight" explained.
"We know that the voices... that are being disruptive. We know that that's not the Florida that we know," Wasserman-Schultz told the Florida delgation.
Oliver adamantly disagreed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, disruptive, borderline unhinged and getting ready to f*ck up a vote that is literally the only Florida we know. The only way that could be any more Florida is if one of the Bernie delegates was an aging heavily armed racist alligator," he said.
But, Oliver noted that thanks to some high caliber speeches, the Democrats got back on track, beginning with first lady Michelle Obama.
But that wasn't even the most controversial emotional highlight of the convention.
On the fourth night, Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim American soldier spoke, escalating a discussion that has perpetuated through the past weekend.
'"Donald Trump, you're asking Americans to trust you with their future, let me ask you have you even read the United States Constitution? I will lend you my copy," Khan said.
"Aw shit, that is an American founding document being inspirationally used as a middle finger. I did not know that was technically possible," Oliver said in awe.
And it wasn't even the most devastating part of Khan's speech.
"Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America; you'll see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one," Khan said, regarding Trump's policy proposal for a Muslim ban.
"Wow," Oliver said, aghast. "That engendered in me an emotion I did not think was possible after 16 months of this depressing campaign and 39 years on earth as a British person."
Oliver's tone changed to an angry one as he dressed Trump down for his deplorable comments about the Khan family since then, ending with this blistering commentary:
“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 actually be beyond his capabilities. And I genuinely did not think that was the part of the job that someone could be bad at.”
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