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Last Week Tonight: HBO Releases John Oliver Segment – The Next Day?!?
HBO released a segment from Sunday's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver... today?!? Here's a look at John Oliver endorsing VP Kamala Harris.
For us, Sunday night's edition of HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver made headlines for two very big, very different reasons. Over the course of a 14-minute segment, John Oliver shifted from his rundown of reasons why Donald Trump and JD Vance shouldn't be allowed the keys to The White House to the reasons why viewers should be going with VP Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz on Election Day. To drive home his point, Oliver endorsed VP Harris and shared that he would be voting for her – only his second time voting in a U.S. POTUS election since becoming a citizen in 2019. The other reason why the segment is getting our attention? It might just be the first "Last Week Tonight" segment that was released shortly after the original show aired (like what happens with HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher) instead of having to wait until Thursday. Granted, it would've been too late by Thursday, but sometimes you have to appreciate when common sense wins the day.
"Elections alone aren't efficient for large-scale change, but they're absolutely necessary for it to ever happen. Because it's the day you essentially get to choose who you'd prefer to be pushing for the next four years and where you'll be pushing them from," Oliver said at one point regarding his decision and endorsement. "Look, I love this country. I'm an immigrant. I chose to be here. In the words of the late, great Lee Greenwood: I'm proud to be an American. And I'd argue there is nothing more American than having a healthy, adversarial relationship with those in power, even if you voted for them," he added, tearing up as he spoke.
But for viewers looking for a more upbeat, optimistic rallying cry before Tuesday, Oliver reminded voters of how much better things will be once the U.S. is out of the shadow of Trump. "I know he would put us through hell before he left the stage, but when the dust settled, he'd have lost two elections in a row and would be campaigning as an 82-year-old next time. I think he'd be done. And doesn't that sound great? I know the problems that he's a symptom of would, of course, remain, but we wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. Wouldn't it be great to live in a world where he's no longer an active threat, just an annoyance?" Oliver added. "I want so badly to live in that world. And I hope everyone does everything in their power in the next 48 hours to make that world possible."