John Oliver: Charlottesville Won’t Be White House’s Turning Point

The late-night comedian had harsh criticism for conservative leadership.

August 21, 2017 9:01 am
John Oliver denouncing white supremacy on August 13, 2017.
John Oliver denouncing white supremacy on August 13, 2017. (HBO/YouTube)

After President Trump twice asserted that there were “very fine people on both sides” of this month’s violent white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver says America shouldn’t expect a shift in tone from conservative leaders moving forward.

“If you are marching with white nationalists you are, by definition, not a very nice person,” Oliver said. “Let me put it to you this way: If Malala Yousafzai had taken part in that rally, you’d have to say, ‘OK, I guess Malala sucks now.’”

Although many Republican members of Congress did come forward to condemn hate groups, Last Week Tonight estimated that only 54 out of 292 directly condemned the president by name for encouraging a rise in white nationalism.

“The problem with not mentioning him is that it suggests that he is somehow not a key part of the problem here,” Oliver said. Take a look at the clip above.

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