John Oliver has just one question for President Donald Trump: “What are you doing?”
On Sunday, the “Last Week Tonight” host said the news of Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis felt “both shocking and utterly inevitable.” The comedian was flabbergasted that just days earlier the president was on the debate stage against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, downplaying the use of masks.
“Biden wears a mask in situations where it’s dangerous not to,” Oliver said, joking that Trump would even question wearing a beekeeper suit if faced with the threat of bees.
“I don’t wear a beekeeper suit like him,” Oliver said, mocking what the president might say. “Every time you see him, he’s wearing a beekeeper suit. Not me because I’m smart and strong. This whole bee thing is a hoax anyway.”
The “Last Week Tonight” host made it clear that the president having COVID-19 is a “big deal” and criticized the response from the White House, including the president, who headed to a fundraiser even after aide Hope Hicks tested positive.
“Normally, I’d criticize the White House operations team for either having no fucking clue what is and isn’t safe, or just not caring,” Oliver said. “But given there’s a pretty good chance that most of them have COVID now, I guess I’ll just say, ‘Feel better guys.’”
Oliver criticized Trump, his family and his aides for numerous other decisions during the week, including refusing to wear masks at the debate and failing to notify the Biden team of possible exposure. The event Trump held to announce his Supreme Court pick of Amy Coney Barrett has also been identified as a possible source of the COVID-19 outbreak in the White House.
“This week, more than ever, proves that in the midst of a pandemic when you act without caution, you cannot expect the virus to simply stand back and stand by,” Oliver said.
Oliver made the comments at the beginning of the show, which “Last Week Tonight” didn’t immediately share on its YouTube page. However, the show did post Oliver’s main segment, where he discussed efforts to suppress the November vote and what you can do to prevent it: