John Oliver Blasts Republicans and Fox News for Failing to Condemn Trump by Name

He also explained why Charlottesville isn’t likely to be a turning point for the White House.

John Oliver on Sunday took on Republicans and Fox News for failing to condemn President Donald Trump by name last week, after the president claimed there were some “very fine” people who participated in the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one woman was killed and many were injured.

“If you’re getting emotionally overwhelmed and feeling judged for defending Trump and his Nazi-sympathizing phase, stop fucking doing it,” Oliver said, after airing a Fox News clip of an anchor crying while defending Trump’s controversial remarks.

“It’s that simple. No one’s making you do it,” Oliver added.

According to Last Week Tonight, only 54 out of 292 Republican members of Congress denounced the president by name. Everyone else, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, issued blanket statements condemning hate groups, while attempting to dodge the responsibility of calling out Trump for fueling the country’s rise of white nationalism.

“The problem with not mentioning him is that it suggests that he is somehow not a key part of the problem here.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX4Djw8D36M

 

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate