John Oliver tore into Fox News on Sunday night, or as he called it: “The network that answers the question ‘What was on TV when grandpa died?’”
Oliver was aghast at revelations that network executives and on-air personalities didn’t believe the lies about the 2020 election being pushed by Donald Trump, even as they parroted them to viewers.
Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch testified in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit that he believed figures such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham went too far.
“Of course Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham went too far,” Oliver agreed. “That is their whole thing. Laura delivers every monologue with the energy of concussed PTA parents, and Hannity spews bullshit while looking like one big neck.”
But the host of “Last Week Tonight” wasn’t about to give Murdoch a pass for recognizing the lies.
“You made these monsters, Rupert,” Oliver said. “You don’t get to act surprised.”
The biggest revelations last week concerned Tucker Carlson, who in private texts admitted that he hated Trump “passionately” and that he “can’t wait” to be able to ignore him.
“I can’t believe I’m gonna say this,” Oliver said, “But, girl: Same!”
Carlson also admitted privately that they’ve been “pretending” the Trump presidency was a success “because admitting what a disaster it’s been is too tough to digest.”
Oliver was stunned.
“Wow!” he said. “A man on a news network cannot be afraid to tell the truth because it’s too tough to digest. That is what the news is.”
Oliver imagined broadcast icon Walter Cronkite reporting on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in the spirit of Carlson and the rest of the Fox News team.
“The president had a lovely car ride in Dallas today,” Oliver said. “His head feels better than ever.”
Oliver devoted the bulk of his show not to the Fox News revelations, but to Temporary Assistance For Needy Families, or TANF, and how the program is being misused and outright abused: