John Oliver returned from hiatus with an in-depth look at an issue that’s driving a frenzy in right-wing media circles: critical race theory.
Yet, as Oliver pointed out, many of those who speak out against it most vehemently also admit they have no idea what it is.
“I’ve never figured out what critical race theory is, to be honest,” Fox News host Tucker Carlson confessed in November, but then proceeded to gripe about it anyway in a clip Oliver played.
“Wow,” Oliver said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a person confidently complain about something just seconds after admitting they don’t know shit about it.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called critical race theory “every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.”
That led Oliver to deliver a Dr. Seuss-like rhyme about Cruz, no doubt due to Cruz once wasting time by reading “Green Eggs and Ham” aloud on the Senate floor.
“I do not like that Ted Cruz man
I do not like him shouting ’klan’
I do not like him in a room
I do not like him in Cancun
I do not like him playing ball
I do not like his face at all
I wish he’d lose his cushy job
That man Ted Cruz is a fucking knob”
Then, Oliver spent nearly half an hour trying to cut through the noise to get to the bottom of the debate over critical race theory ― and why conservatives are really freaking out over it: