'Last Week Tonight' Host John Oliver Compares 2016 Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony to Republican National Convention
John Oliver was none too impressed with the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The HBO "Last Week Tonight" host recently made his feelings known, particularly taking exception with the way NBC seemed to attempt to editorialize the event by having hosts Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira and Hoda Kotb share the most disheartening of facts about each nation as their athletes were showcased on camera.
Brazil's Struggles
"The buildup to the Rio Games has been turbulent, with Brazil experiencing a massive recession, protests in the streets and a Zika outbreak," Oliver said. "On Friday, NBC urged us to forget all that and focus on the Opening Ceremony ... The centerpiece of any Opening Ceremony is the Parade of Nations: that inspirational moment where athletes from around the globe come together, as one, to have "Today" show anchors point out everything that's wrong with their countries."
Oliver went on to compare all the negative vibes of the opening ceremony to the "end-of-the-world" mood that seemed to grip the recent republican convention and GOP nominee Donald Trump's crowning moment in Cleveland.
"Holy s**t. It is a good thing the anchors don't behave like that during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," he added, serving up a sample of what might be with such lines as "There goes Shrek, obviously jaundiced and beset by weight problems stemming from chronic diabetes; here's Charlie Brown, clearly losing his fight with leukemia; and finally, there is Snoopy, who of course is going to be put down later today."
In time, Oliver went on to tackle the ongoing drama in Brazil brought on by the effective ouster of President Dilma Rousseff, the nation's first female ruler, and her subsequent replacement by now acting president Michel Temer.
"Those boos actually make sense for a couple of reasons," he said of all the hisses that drowned out Temer's words when he actually tried to pronounce The Games official. "He is unelected and is planning to push through a number of austerity measures."
Trump Assessment
Oliver's recent view of Trump and his GOP delivered message was even dimmer.
"They are self-serving half-truths from a self-serving half-man who has somehow convinced half the country that sacrifice is the same thing as success," he said after Trump dared to compare the "thousands and thousands" of jobs he has created with the level of sacrifice put forth by the Muslim family of a U.S. Army captain killed in the Iraq War.
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