John Oliver Exposes The Racist Origins Of Trump's Latest Campaign Promise

The host of "Last Week Tonight" shows the long, dark history of white supremacy in America in ways that aren't taught in school.
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President Donald Trump’s latest campaign talking point is a promise to keep low-income housing out of America’s suburbs, a vow that’s been slammed for its overt racism.

“Oh my. I mean, it’s not even a dog whistle anymore,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on Twitter. “Our president is now a proud, vocal segregationist.”

But as “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver explained on Sunday night, there’s been a long and tortured path to this moment. Racism, he said, has pervaded American history for centuries in ways rarely taught in school, and that lack of education has only helped to perpetuate it.

“A history of America that ignores white supremacy is a white supremacist history of America,” Oliver said.

Then, he shared some of Rep. John Lewis’ last words on the importance of understanding our history, all of it:

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