Trump’s late-night nemesis John Oliver says the mixed messaging around Donald Trump’s deadly war in Iran has been “reckless and chaotic.”
On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, Oliver reeled off the various justifications given by the Trump administration for its surprise strikes on the Islamic regime, saying officials had “been all over the place” explaining the president’s motives.
“At various points they claimed Iran was gonna attack us, Israel was gonna attack Iran, which would have led to them attacking us,” Oliver said.
“Iran was gonna assassinate Trump, so we assassinated the ayatollah first, Iran was gonna obtain nuclear weapons or ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles), and we just did this to free the Iranian people out of the kindness of our hearts.”
The talk show host also played footage of Trump suggesting he was having difficulty pinning down a MAGA-approved contender to run Iran after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
The 86-year-old ayatollah, who had ruled Iran since 1989, was killed by an Israeli strike. He has been replaced as supreme leader by his 56-year-old son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said in the Oval Office last Tuesday. “We have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports… Pretty soon we’re not gonna know anybody.”
Oliver stated Trump’s explanation for a potential succession of leadership in Iran was “not ideal.”
“‘Everyone keeps dying and soon we’re not gonna know anyone,’ isn’t how you should be describing your foreign policy,” Oliver said. “At best, it’s how you describe the experience of being a Grateful Dead fan.”
Oliver noted that Trump’s war had now spread out to over a dozen other countries and mentioned the bombing of a girls’ school in Iran that killed at least 150 people, mostly children.
“This all seems reckless, chaotic and not remotely well thought-through,” Oliver said.
The host then noted that Trump “in that weird way, in which he’s occasionally very honest” seemed to acknowledge what the future for Iran could look like.
When asked by a reporter last Tuesday what the worst-case scenario for Iran would be, Trump said it would be, “We do this, then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person, right?… In five years you realize you put somebody in who was no better.”
A shocked Oliver noted Trump was “exactly right” with his blunt assessment and said it was “jarring to hear such a lucid analysis of its own actions in the Middle East.”
The comedian said, “You don’t expect that from him. It’s like hearing him say, ‘Have you read the latest issue of The New Yorker?’”
He then imagine Trump, who says his favorite film is Rush Hour, appearing in the Criterion Closet, where cinephiles pick a great world movie that has deeply impacted them.
Oliver imagined Trump selecting a Swedish avant-garde psychological drama cult classic from 1966.
“Wait, he picked Persona?” Oliver joked. “It’s his favorite (Ingmar) Bergman? I don’t think I understand anything anymore.”
Oliver then dedicated his show to an examination of brutal funding cuts to the international aid program USAID, which were championed by billionaire Elon Musk during his DOGE era. He said USAID was “something Donald Trump absolutely hates, even more than finding makeup that’ll match his complexion.”
Showing a picture of Trump’s oatmeal-colored cosmetics smeared on his hand, Oliver said “Go to Sephora, dude. It’ll take 10 minutes!”
Trump’s right hand has sported heavy bruising for over a year, as reported by the Daily Beast. The 79-year-old consistently attempts to conceal the affliction with make-up that is strikingly different to his actual skin tone.
While the host only briefly mentioned the firing of Kristi Noem from her role as secretary of homeland security last week, the woman known as ICE Barbie did make it to the show’s iconic opening credits.
A photo of the 54-year-old appeared with the caption “Persona Noem Grata.”
The post John Oliver Exposes Trump’s Confusion on War He Started appeared first on The Daily Beast.
