John Oliver Exposes the One Thing Trump Has Been Disturbingly Successful at This Year

He breaks down the ways Trump is wrecking democracy.

To mark the anniversary of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, John Oliver on Sunday took a step back from the daily chaos coming from the White House to examine the three significant ways the Trump presidency has attacked the basic norms of democracy: delegitimizing the media, practicing “whataboutism” (example: his reaction to Charlottesville), and trolling.  

“While there is nothing new about any of these techniques, they are now coming out of the Oval Office,” Oliver said. “Which not only legitimatizes them, it risks them spreading. That sadly is happening.” 

Despite the fatigue so many Americans are experiencing, the Last Week Tonight host urges viewers to remain vigilant of these techniques and speak out. By doing so, Americans can continue notching small but important victories, such as blocking Trump’s Muslim ban and stalling the Republican effort to repeal Obamacare.

“Despite Trump’s few real policy accomplishments to date, he has consistently achieved one thing, and that is making his enemies unhappy,” he said. “And for many Trump supporters, that itself counts as a major victory.”

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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