John Oliver blasted Donald Trump's performance at the National Association for Black Journalists, calling his interview with three Black journalists "disastrous" after the former president's controversial comments on Vice President Kamala Harris' race last week.
The comedian opened Sunday evening's episode of "Last Week Tonight" with his critique on Trump's appearance at NABJ. The show played the now-viral clip of the Republican nominee being asked, "Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a Black woman?"
Trump responded, "I can say no, I think it’s maybe a little bit different. She was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black."
He continued, "Now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know. Is she Indian, or is she Black? She was Indian all the way, then all of a sudden she made a turn and became a Black person."
However, Oliver had one positive observation about the interaction: "I mean this in the most disparaging way possible: that went about as well as could be expected. . . . Putting Trump in front of a Black audience and asking him to speak on race was never going to get more elevated than, 'The lady said she was both Indian and Black; that’s cheating.' Also, not that this needs saying, Harris didn’t 'make a turn' into being Black like it’s an interstate offramp. Her father’s Black and her mother was Indian."
Also, Oliver could not help but bring in Trump's vice president pick, JD Vance into the conversation, stating, "I can’t imagine what JD Vance, a man with three biracial children, was thinking while watching Trump there."
The comedian joked, "Although, you know what? He was probably thinking, 'Mmm look at that luscious upholstery. Do those cushions come all the way off?'" Oliver alluded to the rumor that took the internet by storm that Vance, in his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," wrote that he had sex with his couch.
Outside of Trump's appearance at NABJ, Oliver highlighted the commencement of the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the comedian also brought to light the rampant culture war surrounding the opening ceremony that was deemed "satanic" by Christian conservatives.
Oliver explained, "One element of the ceremony got some extra blowback — this scene, in which drag queens and other performers were gathered at a table. It was meant to evoke pagan feasts, but some saw something else in it, and were furious."
"Last Week Tonight" played a clip of Trump's response to the opening ceremony which was an homage to the Greek mythology and Feast of Dionysus. "I thought that the opening ceremony was a disgrace, actually. I thought it was a disgrace. The mocking of the Last Supper? Catholics and Christians across, I thought, across the globe are outraged. I mean, they can do certain things, I thought it was . . . terrible."
Oliver stated, "You know, it’s always strange to watch Trump act like he cares about religion because, to echo something I heard someone say recently, 'I didn’t know he was Christian until a number of years ago when he happened to turn Christian . . . All of a sudden he made a turn and became a Christian person.'"
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs on Sundays at 11 p.m. ET on Max.
