UPDATE MONDAY PM: Less than 4 days after the UK voted to leave the EU, the country today exited another European forum after the British soccer team was beat by Iceland (a non-EU member) in the round of 16 at the Euro 2016. The defeat prompted the following tweet by Oliver:
Well, England, you’ve had quite the week
— John Oliver (@iamjohnoliver) June 27, 2016
PREVIOUS SUNDAY PM: Last week, John Oliver tried to warn his British compatriots of the disastrous consequences a Leave EU vote could have. Yet, the UK shocked the world by voting to leave, and tonight Oliver tore into the main players in the referendum, Prime Minister David Cameron and the leaders of the Leave movement, Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party and former London Mayor Boris Johnson. Also coming under fire — U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump — as Oliver wrapped the segment with a cautionary tale for American voters.
“Let us begin straightaway with the United Kingdom, a place whose very name after this week’s events is beginning to sound a bit sarcastic,” Oliver opened Last Week Tonight. “Because the UK this week voted to leave the European Union, a decision that has shaken the world. And not in a, ‘Muhammad Ali beating Sonny Liston’ kind of way. More in a, ‘Those IKEA meatballs you love contain horse kind of way.’”
Noting that it was Cameron’s idea to hold an In-or-out referendum, Oliver spoke of the Prime Minister’s resignation following the defeat of the Remain side, which he’d supported. “(It) should make me happy, but in this situation it doesn’t,” Oliver said of Cameron’s stepping down. “It’s like catching an ice cream cone out of the air because a child was hit by a car. I’ll eat it, but it’s tainted somehow.”
Oliver had some pointed words about Cameron, whom he called a “pig-f***er,” a reference to a circulated by the media but denied by Cameron story of an Oxford hazing incident, Johnson (“shaved orangutan with Owen Wilson’s hair”) and Farage (“three-time cover model for Punchable Face magazine’).
The host also blasted Farage and Johnson for channeling Bill Pullman’s speech from the original Independence Day movie in proclaiming June 23 as the UK’s Independence Day.
“First, Britain was already independent. In fact, it’s what many other countries celebrate their independence from,” Oliver said. “And second, the sequel to the movie they’re quoting actually opened this week and features the wholesale destruction of London – which is beginning to feel pretty f***ing appropriate now.”
In closing, Oliver brought up Trump’s infamous post-Brexit tweets and shifted the focus to the U.S.’ upcoming presidential election.
“You might think, ‘Well that is not going to happen to us in America. We’re not going to listen to some ridiculously haired buffoon, peddling lies and nativism in the hopes of riding a protest vote into power.’ Well let Britain tell you, it can happen,” Trump said as the image changed from Trump to Johnson. “And when it does, there are no f***ing do-overs.”
We will update with a licensed video if/when it becomes available.
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