President Trump may actually learn something from watching TV news now, thanks to John Oliver.
The “Last Week Tonight” host returned and devoted the biggest segment of the show to focus on the issue of Donald Trump living in his own reality and simply making up facts.
Oliver looked to take steps in solving this by purchasing ads with facts Trump should know that would air on major news networks like CNN, MSNBC and Fox News.
Each ad featured a man dressed up as a cowboy who explained things like what the nuclear triad is, demographics of urban areas and that there are other people in the world other than himself.
John Oliver had advertisements created with a man dressed up as a cowboy who explained things like what the nuclear triad is, demographics of urban areas and that there are other people in the world other than himself.
(Last Week Tonight)
“We all need to commit to defending the reality of facts, but it’s going to take work,” Oliver said.
The Trump administration has given Oliver plenty of material to work with in its first three weeks, but the problem with Trump and the truth was one he wanted to really hit home in the season premiere.
Oliver looked to answer four questions in the segment: How did we get a pathological liar in the White House? Where are his lies coming from? Why do so many people believe him? And what can we possibly do about it?
“Trump was telling the truth about his solutions to the problems he was lying about, and he is now making real policy based on fake facts,” Oliver said.
The host explored how Trump collects information from unreliable sources like Alex Jones’ Infowars and Breitbart.
“Breitbart has published such Pulitzer-eligible stories as ‘Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy,’ ‘Racist, Pro-Nazi roots of Planned Parenthood Revealed,’ and ‘Hoist It High and Proud: The Confederate Flag Proclaims a Glorious Heritage.’” Oliver said. “You know, the kind of headlines you see your old high school friends share on Facebook and think, Oh, that’s a shame, I guess Greg sucks now.”
Oliver warned of the dangers of rumors and how they can be “tenacious,” especially when news comes from unreliable sources.
For an example, Oliver pointed to Richard Gere.
The fourth season of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” with John Oliver premiered Sunday night.
(Last Week Tonight)
There’s an infamous false rumor that the actor had to have a gerbil removed from his bottom.
“Well, here’s the thing: there is no proof that he did that. If you think about it, it’s ridiculous. Have you ever held one of those things? There’s no way it was possible,” Oliver explained. “But, if the president went on TV and told you it was true, you’d go, ‘I knew it! Thank you! I knew it! Finally someone said it!’ But that loop gets much more dangerous when you’re not talking about something as silly as gerbils. Trump validated his supporters’ beliefs about voter fraud, and in turn, they validated his.”
SEE IT: John Oliver buys advertisements on major news networks to present Donald Trump with facts – New York Daily News