On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver discussed this past weekend’s “Unite the Right 2” rally, which occurred on the one-year anniversary of the riots in Charlottesville last summer.
“We begin with racists,” Oliver kicked things off. “They’re the reason 911 now has to answer calls with: ‘Is this a real emergency, or is there just a black person nearby?’
“As we tape this show, right now tonight, the ‘Unite the Right 2’ rally is winding down,” he continued. “A massive dozens of white nationalists apparently gathered in DC, where they were met by hundreds of counter-protesters calling them all assholes.”
“While that numerical discrepancy is heartening, let’s not get too reassured here,” Oliver noted. “Because this week also brought a visceral reminder of the problems that we’re facing.”
The host then showed footage from CNN, where a poll showed 49% of Americans think Donald Trump is a racist while 47% don’t.
“It is both shocking that it’s 49% and it’s equally shocking that it’s only 49%,” Oliver said. “It’s like only 49% of people thinking that Kermit is a frog.
“Today’s demonstration,” Oliver continued, “is just the culmination of a week in which America’s regular dog-whistle racism became uncomfortably loud.”
He proceeded to show a widely derided clip from Fox News’ anchor Laura Ingraham’s broadcast last week. In it, she says “the America we know and love doesn’t exist any more”, blaming both illegal immigration and legal immigration, which she said “progressives love”.
“Wow, she just came right out and said it, in the scripted commentary, straight down the camera, knowing her mic was on,” the host said. “No economic anxiety, no ‘Some of them are good people’. Just: ‘I don’t want people who don’t look like this here.’”
Oliver went on: “While Ingraham later tried to say her remarks had nothing to do with race, it is worth noting that no less an authority than David Duke, former grand wizard of the Klan, called it one of the most important truthful monologues in the history of the mainstream media.
“When the former head of the Klan likes what you’re doing, that should give you real pause,” Oliver said. “Let me put it this way: if immediately after this taping, Dr Larry Nassar caught me in the hallway and said: ‘Hey man, loved your show,’ I’d think long and hard about what the fuck I just said.”
