“Yes, Donald Trump wants to build a wall on the U.S.—Mexican border,” said HBO’s John Oliver, after showing several clips of Trump referring to the wall in glowing terms, “and based on his tone, he also wants to f*** that wall.”
Now that Stewart and Colbert have left Comedy Central, Last Week Tonight now offers (by far) the most brilliant political comedy on TV, and the more episodes they put out, the more it seems like they’ve even out-done Stewart’s Daily Show and the Colbert Report. But even by those lofty standards, Oliver on Trump’s wall is a special kind of genius. “It’s a big dumb idea that just gets more expensive over time,” he says, while analyzing the true cost of the wall—far more than Trump’s initial $4 billion estimate. Initially, experts estimate it will cost $25 billion or so, but maintenance costs will double that total within seven years.
“It’s like getting a pet walrus,” Oliver said. “You think it’s stupid now, but wait until you learn what a bucket of sea cucumbers costs!”
He then goes on to point out the stupidity of the idea that Mexico will pay for the wall, and branches off from there into a scorching takedown of Trump’s ideology. Watch the clip above, and thank your god, gods, or spirit animal that in the age of superficial and biased and corporate media, Oliver’s lonely torch can still shine a bright light on the rampant absurdities of American political life.